Shut Inside
by Excused
Summary: An emotionless, coldhearted Tsuna as a product of a traumatic experience, Vongola's guardians mentally become hopeless, and the fact Hibari had just encountered an accident that permanently changed his life course doesn't help at all. TYL 1827 2700 8059
1. Chapter 1  Cut Down

Er, this is my first fanfiction, so please don't freak out at mistakes...but feel free to tell me what to fix. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR...):

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Cut Down<strong>

_Beep...beep...beep..._

"Kyouya."

...

"Kyouya...I..."

A sigh. A skidding of a wooden chair. A pause.

_Beep...beep...beep..._

An another sigh. A man reluctantly left. A door shut.

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><p>Five men and a growing teenager scattered along the small emergency room. Some sat next to the sick bed, others stood near the door, and the rest flopped defeatedly against the wall. No one spoke; only a heart monitor beeped a slow and steady chant. Tense and anxious, the atmosphere stood deathly still, unwilling to churn back to the usual careful yet reckless mood.<p>

Matured but still impatient, a silver-haired male bent over while sitting on the wooden chair, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes. He stiffened with distrust when soft fingertips touched his shoulder and immediately moved away to signal _stop_. However, the owner of those fingers still smiled even though his rejecting reaction had hurt. The lingering fingers fell limp against its owner's thigh with a sad _thump_. Across the room, a man who had seen this little scene would have originally smirked, but could not bring himself to do so. With his knees bent and forearms resting on top, his head lolled back and attacked the wall behind, releasing a wave of frustration. The teenager who was next to him started with surprise and slowly inched away from him, staring at the mad man with a tinge of fear. Towards the entrance, a noticeably hardworking athlete who leaned against the door frame mumbled incoherent words to himself; if one went close enough, they could hear him counting sheep. And of course, the last unsaid man lay motionless on the sick bed, unable to bring himself back alive again or to speak.

The icy silence broke when obvious footsteps came clattering down the adjacent hallway. Instantly alert, everyone raised their heads and glared at the newcomer, expressions yearning for news. _Good_ news, they hoped.

The doctor coughed with uneasiness, startled by the mass of attention.

"Doctor Shamal?" Yamamoto Takeshi urged encouragingly with a nod of his head.

The doctor coughed again, preparing for the report. "Well, first thing's first, Hibari-san is in no life-risking situation."

Almost at once, the atmosphere churned again, but it was still tense.

"He's obviously severely wounded, but considering it's Hibari-san we're dealing with, those will heal completely in less than a month." And he hesitated. "His most obvious injury was at the neck. If you guys remember, there was a lot of blood and hard bruises around that area. Well, I cleaned up the blood and spotted more bruises-"

"Shamal," an irritated man growled impatiently, "if you continue speaking in an unnecessary roundabout way, I swear I will-"

"Okay, okay," the doctor sighed. "...To put it simply, the next time Hibari-san wakes up...he will no longer be able to talk."

The crowd was silent for the next ten seconds.

"Haha...ha...hahaha!"

Instinctively, everyone turned towards the laughter.

"Kyouya...unable to talk? Speak? He's _mute_?" Rokudo Mukuro continued laughing, disbelief coated his words.

The boy scooted back even farther. The rest of the group decided to ignore the insane Mist Guardian.

"No talking...to the extreme?"

Another ten seconds of elapsed silence; quiet laughter hung in the background.

"Shamal...does Jyudaime know of this?"

"No," he replied flatly.

The silver-haired man stood up from the chair and headed out.

"Haya-"

"_Don't call me that, Yamamoto_. And no, you cannot come."

Hit harshly, the once again rejected man faltered to a halt, his face scrunched in rare pain. He stepped back in unexpected defeat, his head down, and fists clenched tight. _Hayato _never_ calls me by my actual name, _his mental body agonized_. _

"Sorry, man. I know you have it rough," Doctor Shamal sympathized when the Storm Guardian went out of hearing range. Then he left.

With the report done and the skylark's health secured, the group dispersed. Sasagawa Ryohei left first, basically confused with the whole situation besides the fact that somehow, Hibari could not speak anymore. Lambo Bovino gladly left Mukuro's side and gave a comforting pat to Yamamoto's shoulder. After recovering from his fit of laughter (which took a while), Mukuro disappeared among his mist flames and Chrome replaced him with her sleeping form.

With a sigh, a swordsman with a thin scar on his chin, straightened his back with a smile already on his face. A smile so fake that even a stranger could tell. Turning around, he spotted a slumbering girl against the wall. With friendly interests, he walked over, picked her up effortlessly, and lay her down on one of extra cots in the emergency room. He sighed again, scoffing at how contagious they were and left as well.

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><p>"Jyudaime?"<p>

Gokudera Hayato cautiously knocked on the door of the office of Vongola Decimo.

_It's three in the morning, and Jyudaime is still doing paperwork_.

"Come in."

He took a deep breath and opened the door. In front of him was his Jyudaime, the man he would forever be loyal to. The man who saved him from his own isolation, and the first man he ever opened up to. He would follow his boss to the ends of this earth if he had to; as long as he was by his side, supported him with all his might, and protected him with his own life, he would feel that he accomplished the goal God had given him. That was his thought a few years ago. Gradually he was losing his faith. Yes, _the_ Gokudera Hayato had lost some part of his faith in his boss. The boss facing him at this moment had cold eyes, lost in its own world and afraid to come back; had dying - _dead_ lips which never spoke those meaningful, kind words; had a strong body, as if its only job was to destroy whatever that blocked its path. Of course, being his right hand man, he trusted his boss' actions, believing that whatever he did was right. And whatever that didn't seem right always had a perfect reason as to why he did it. But it had been so long, so long since Gokudera saw his boss' smiling face, so long since his boss' and his friends laughed and enjoyed each other's company. So long...

The Vongola Decimo was obediently doing his paperwork at his desk, his pen scribbling signature after signature. He did not show any signs of warm welcome. He had stopped that three years ago. Just how he stopped smiling and laughing.

"Hayato-kun?" Decimo inquired when his guardian didn't say anything, yet he continued signing without looking up.

He started. "I apologize. I came here with news about Hibari's condition."

"Yes, and how is it?"

"Hibari's health is cleared. No life risks. However, due to physical damage of the larynx, he has become...mute."

The pen froze, but immediately recovered its speed after a swift millisecond. This did not pass Gokudera's gaze, however, and he inwardly smiled. Even if the matter wasn't positively comforting, he smiled because his boss just made a human reaction which gave him a boost to his hope. _You're still in there Jyudaime, come back to us soon_.

"Thank you for your report, Hayato-kun. You may leave."

He bowed and exited the office.

As Gokudera headed towards to his living quarters, the sides of his mouth twitched upwards as he thought about his Jyudaime. _There is still hope_, he thought as he opened the door to his dorm with an appropriate key. And then his little happy moment was instantly sucked into a black hole.

That stupid _Yamamoto_ was in his quarters. _I can't believe I gave him one of my keys_.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

He had marched over to the living room, now standing next to the leather couch which Yamamoto currently occupied. He glowered at him, sending the deathliest glare he could muster. The swordsman just smiled. But it held no sense of joy only sadness. Gokudera felt a pang of guilt but forced it down to the pit of his stomach.

"If you have nothing to say, I want you to fucking get out."

"I'm sorry."

"Yes. Yes, you should be sorry for being here. Now-"

"No, Hayato," Gokudera hissed at his name, "I'm sorry for today, for breaking our promise."

He didn't have to explain. He already knew what he was apologizing for. But he didn't want to talk about it.

"I get it, now I want you to leave, baseball idiot," Gokudera demanded as he seized hold of one of the swordsman's arms to drag him off.

Yamamoto did not budge. He stared at him wide-eyed. "You just called me 'baseball idiot'."

Gokudera frowned. "Great that you finally noticed."

"But you just called me 'Yamamoto' in the ER," he persisted, trying to get a point across that Gokudera obviously didn't understand.

"So what?"

"Which means you forgive me."

Gokudera stared at him weirdly as if he came from another planet.

"But you would never forgive me, not with me breaking that sort of promise."

"That's right," Gokudera quickly agreed.

Yamamoto abruptly got up from the couch and leaned in. Gokudera let go of his arm.

"Something good happened," Yamamoto said firmly as he leaned in closer, as if trying to achieve an answer through Gokudera's green eyes. He made sure to lean back with every move. "If something good hadn't happened, you would still be calling me 'Yamamoto' and also throwing a fit over the issue about our promise."

"Nothing happened," the silver-haired man snapped. He knew he should share. Share about the hopeful moment he just had with his boss. That his boss actually reacted to Hibari's voice condition. But he didn't. He didn't because if he did, Yamamoto would be back. Back to confuse his emotions with those stupid affections of his and true killer smiles. So he stayed silent and ordered him to get out for the last time.

Yamamoto left with a smile. But this time, it wasn't full of sadness like the one just a few minutes ago. It had hope. Hope for what? Gokudera didn't quite want to decide whether it was for Tsuna or for himself.

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><p><em>Beep...beep...beep...<em>

"Kyouya...I..."

...

A tear. A muffled shout. A sob.

"Kyouya...I'm so sorry. So, so sorry."

_Beep...beep...beep..._

"Kyouya...don't you understand? I-I..."

A skidding of a chair. A man quickly left. A door shut.

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><p>Gee, I really hope that people read this. : I would be crying my eyes out if I ever manage to get to ten reviews. I'm such a newb. Lol. Please review? D:


	2. Chapter 2 Shock

Omgoodness, I cannot thank those who reviewed enough or even the ones who just read this! I'm already past the halfway mark to crying my eyes out! And really close, too! I need to get some tissues next to my laptop. Well, here's the next chapter…

**To Domino : **Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad that my writing is, er…acknowledgeable? Haha. Well, here's the next chap.

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR…):

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Shock<strong>

For the past three years, Vongola had been gradually falling apart. Not by power or authority, but mentally. Disorganized and reckless, emotions among the mafia family ran across the room; chaotic or peaceful, and sometimes, the guardians would shamefully admit _distrust_. They all knew it was because of Tsuna, their absolute boss. Nobody blamed him, they just wanted to know why. Why did he change for the worse?

Friendship tightened exponentially after Tsuna had finally inherited his title ten years ago. They fought for their own way of justice, ignoring traditional mafia ways. Tsuna forbid his guardians to kill and made positive relationships with other families as soon as possible. Vongola grew closer. Something like doubting friends didn't exist during that span of years. At times, Gokudera called Hibari 'Kyouya' when he tried to make a point across. Once, the skylark tolerated drinking tea with the Mist Guardian. Even Ryohei attempted to wear a cow suit at one point, though that had failed miserably.

On the seventh year of the tenth generation, Vongola had accepted a stupid invitation of a moderate family; more like _Reborn_ accepted. Decimo wanted nothing to do with it. He even begged to remain in the headquarters, not caring if he reverted back to his Dame-Tsuna years for a whole day. It was his intuition, a dark nagging feeling in the back of his mind that told him to stay away from that family. Reborn didn't want to take his advice, even though he had said day after day that a Vongola's intuition should be trusted. Countering, he told Tsuna it was just a little meeting with a nice, little dinner; harmless. Even if it did end up in a fight, the current state of Vongola's prowess would snap the family in half. So Sawada Tsunayoshi went. Sulking in the back of their fancy limousine, his guardians worried for him, since they weren't notified about Tsuna's refusal of attending. Reborn just sat along with them, acting as if nothing unusual was present.

Of course there was a fight. Decimo's intuition proved to be correct as always. But the battle was so…_easy_. So easy that something like teaming up with a partner seemed overboard. The family was weak, had no strategy, and the few flame-users who attacked fought poorly. When the battle finished in no less than ten minutes, the guardians suddenly realized their precious boss had disappeared.

They panicked, being the loyal guardians they were. Hunting the grounds, relief washed over them when reaching their target only required sprinting around for two minutes. Surprisingly, Lambo had found him first and bloated about his achievement continuously. When everyone gathered around their boss (with an exception of the Cloud Guardian), Tsuna smiled at them and apologized for making them worry. But something was clearly misplaced. His expression was dead, held no sense of life as if the twelve minutes Tsuna had vanished qualified enough time for him to destroy his soul. The guardians fell in shocked silence for a moment before asking what had happened. Tsuna just gave them a puzzled glance with the same dead look in his eyes, seemingly confused. Vongola was never the same after that.

Later, one by one, the six guardians would realize that Tsuna's dead smile was the last smile they would ever see.

With Tsuna empty and cold, internally, Vongola deteriorated. Doubt that didn't exist before sprung up frequently. Distrust grew without the warm connection the guardians took for granted. They fell in to hopelessness.

Reborn did not show any signs of guilt, nor did he tell anyone that Tsuna had forewarned the danger by his intuition. The pacifier holder stayed to watch Decimo's personality twist a full 180 degrees and left the Vongola mansion in a week. No goodbyes, no note. Tsuna's right hand man immediately assigned for a search team, but was stopped by his boss.

"No, Hayato-kun, Reborn will come back eventually," he told him with a cold glance.

But he never did.

Shock. A sign of betrayal.

Nerve-wracking problems continued to sprout ever since that incident. Without Vongola expecting it, a certain horrifying problem had shot down Vongola's _Ace_, Hibari Kyouya.

The skylark awoke to see his ever so loyal assistant changing his IV and an infuriating heart monitor screeching to his sensitive ears. Great, a hospital, what a loss of pride.

"Oh, Kyou-san, you're awake."

Hibari turned his head around to see Kusakabe Tetsuya. Intense pain shot down his spine as his neck moved, and he suppressed a wince, making sure no sign of distress came to his facial features. But Kusakabe just gave him a knowing stare.

He handed him a cup of water, which Hibari reached for gratefully, only to be held back when he noticed his right arm was broken. He mentally growled at the hindrance and used his left instead, sending more shockwaves of pain since the reach was farther.

"You were out for three days," Kusakabe notified as he watched his leader drink the water. "Today is September 21st. Overall, Vongola is not damaged, and your health-"

Hibari abruptly threw the hospital sheets off his body, revealing a gown. He frowned at his clothes before sliding his legs towards the side of the bed and getting up. His jaw clenched as needles punctured deeply into his limbs and did his best to ignore the burning fire that raked his throat. He wanted more water, but didn't degrade himself to ask Kusakabe for another cup.

"Kyou-san! You're still healing! Please lay back down," his assistant fussed. "Besides, I haven't even gone over your health report."

The Cloud Guardian just glared at him before half-stumbling out the exit, finding his presence quite irritating. But before he could completely step out, he noticed his tonfas resting on a table. Leaning over, he snatched them both with his left hand and left. He actually appeared quite silly. Vongola's Ace in a white hospital gown with his weapons held in a lopsided way. Obviously, no one dared to laugh.

The hospital quarters stood underground in the basement, which Hibari cursed at since the living area was all the way up the fourth floor. And through the generations, none of the bosses bothered to plant an elevator to assist the injured or elderly. As he climbed the stairs, Hibari couldn't help but to pant and feel exhausted. His pride took another punch from his weakness. By the time he finally entered his bedroom, all he wanted to do was to collapse onto his fluffy and welcoming queen-sized bed. But he forced himself to retrieve a freshly washed suit from the closet to replace his revealing gown.

Yamamoto was just locking his room with a key when he spotted Hibari striding down the hallway with an arm sling supporting his right side.

"Kyouya-san!" Yamamoto grinned at him but then it faltered. "You shouldn't be walking. Your injuries are pretty serious."

The Cloud Guardian just glared. He hated hearing people trying to care for him. He didn't need it.

"Oh, well, Tsuna is in his office," Yamamoto said as if it was a common answer Hibari asked for. Then he gave him a slight look of pity. The skylark fumed at this expression but decided he didn't have time to deal with the idiot.

He nodded at the swordsman as a sign of acknowledgement and headed for the top floor.

All the guardians lived on the same floor with their rooms adjacent to each other. Comparing Hibari to Tsuna, he stayed in the room on the opposite side of the hallway. Not like it mattered, Tsuna rarely came down from his office anymore, always suffocating himself with paperwork as if it was his life. His guardians had long ago stopped trying to persuade their boss to sleep and wake up at a normal schedule. Decimo would just shake his head and send them out with a wave of his hand.

As Hibari neared the office door, frustration and anger rumbled through his body. Thinking about Tsuna made him recall the recent battle. According to Kusakabe, three days had already passed. Three days was way too long. Too long of a time to let the enemy flee and gleefully cackle with triumph. Too long of a time to let him escape from the skylark's wrath and revenge. Too long of a time to let him get away with holding _him_ hostage as if it was an entertaining thing to do.

Seething, Hibari released his boiling emotions on the door, knocking a bit too loudly.

"Come in."

Hibari nearly kicked the door down with his foot, but managed to catch himself.

"Kyouya, you're awake."

This time, Decimo immobilized his pen properly and looked up.

"Kyouya, are you sure your body can handle the walking? Your wounds are still fresh," Tsuna said, but no concern mixed with his flat tone.

Already frustrated, Tsuna's caring yet cold words bothered the Cloud Guardian to no end. He narrowed his eyes, opened his mouth, curled his tongue and let it drop.

"_sssskehhrr_."

Hibari's eyes widened. His body froze.

…

"Kyo-"

He was already out the door.

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><p><em>Bam! <em>

"Arghhh!"

Gokudera Hayato plopped down to the carpeted-floor in defeat.

_No, no, no, no, nonono! _

He glanced at the crack in the wall before sighing. _Shit, another property damage bill_.

Gokudera sat there with his head between his knees and hands tangled in his silver hair. After a few minutes of attempting to calm down, he decided to take a shower to cool off. He stripped, stepped into the stall, and blasted the nozzle to freezing. Shuddering at the biting temperature, he shied away, but he eventually let himself be engulfed.

_Damnit! Stupid Hibari Kyouya. What was his problem? Barging into Jyudaime's office right when he wakes up without listening to his fucking health report! _

He groaned. _Jyudaime has his own issues to deal with, can't you just leave him alone for once? And that baseball idiot! He didn't even _try_ to hold him back! _

Once again he punched the wall, but with less force than the previous time. He turned the handle to shut the shower off even if it had only been a minute. Drying himself off rather fiercely, he caught himself in the mirror, seeing his face glowering back at him with hatred. He loosened his expression slightly and bent down to pick up his clothes. Boxers then his pants. He reached to open the door of his bathroom with his shirt still in his hands. With a little pull, he caught the door with his foot while struggling to get his shirt in place. And then he paused, having the feeling that somebody was staring at him. He cursed.

"_Yamamoto!_" he shrieked with his shirt only halfway down his chest.

The grin instantly fell off of the swordsman face, no matter how pleasurable Gokudera's body appeared. _Shit, he's calling me by my name again. _

"Hayato-?"

"Give me back those keys!"

"What?"

"The keys! Give them back! I don't want you here anymore!"

"Hayato, please-"

"Please what, you bastard? For forgiveness? I never gave you any in the first place!" Gokudera yelled, his voice building up by the second. Then he finally dragged his shirt down to an appropriate spot. "I can't believe it. You broke your promise, _again_!"

"What!" Yamamoto said incredulously, beginning to loose his cool. "That's unfair, Hayato, I didn't know he was completely oblivious about his handicap!"

"Well you should've gotten him to talk! What else?"

The swordsman responded with a displeased look. "Fine. Here are your keys."

He reached into his back pocket and started to hand them over directly but then tossed them at a nearby nightstand.

"I hope you're happy," Yamamoto said before leaving and shutting the door closed.

…

"…Shit."

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><p>I know it was not as exciting as the first chapter. : Sorry. I am literally just going with the flow with this, which I normally NEVER do. That was not a very good excuse...

My Japanese vocabulary isn't very big here. Would anyone like to tell me what Hibari wears when he goes to his private Japanese-cultured place? Its that robe/er, yukata? looking thing.

Please review? D:


	3. Chapter 3 Your Fault

Yeesh, the last chapter must have been awfully boring, or was awfully boring...): From reading reviews, I had a feeling that I was spelling Hibari's name wrong, so it's '**Kyouya**' now…although there might be some typos. And, er, **warning**: omgoodness, major OOC Tsuna. /: Hopefully, this chapter is more exciting...*sighh*

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR…):

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Your Fault <strong>

"_Ah, good evening, Hibari Kyouya. I was expecting you. How is Vongola Decimo doing these days?" _

"_I'm only here to bite you to death," the skylark growled. _

"_I would think twice, Hibari-kun. After all, your precious boss' life is in my hands." _

_The skylark tensed. "Who the hell are you?" _

_The man in front of him smiled. "Oh, you'll figure out soon enough." _

_Hibari closed in, threatening the man with his weapon. He only smirked, unaffected by his murdering aura. _

"_Tsk, Hibari-kun, I would think you would know better. I highly encourage you to listen to me before _you_ send your precious boss to his death." _

"..._What do you want?" _

"_Hm? Well, I want you dead, of course." _

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><p>Kusakabe stood sheepishly next to the Vongola's Storm Guardian, berating himself for being so useless.<p>

"I'm really sorry, Gokudera-san. Kyou-san refused to attend."

"It's all right, Kusakabe-san…"

The silver-haired man sighed. Of course. The aloof Cloud Guardian never came to the meetings, so why should he today? But he couldn't help but to feel angry. He needed Hibari's side of the story. What in the world really happened three days ago? That stupid boxer (who had partnered with him that mission) was too retarded to piece the events together to come up with a plausible reason as to why Hibari was beaten up so badly.

"Man, the enemies were extremely weak," the boxer had complained. "I could beat them down in one punch. When I caught up to Hibari-san, I nearly fell down in surprise to the extreme! He was just on the ground, _letting_ a guy stomp on him. And then I punched the guy in the head and knocked him out. Probably caught him extremely off guard."

Gokudera was quite astonished to hear this. Well, anyone would have. The thought of it was just impossible. The proud, arrogant Cloud Guardian of Vongola would never fall to his knees in submission to anyone. So he absolutely needed the reason why. But the only person who had that sort of information was Hibari Kyouya himself, who couldn't _speak_ anymore and went missing majority of the time.

"Lawnhead, what did you do with the body?"

"Huh? The body? Oh, I think it went up in mist flames."

A mist flame user...even more of an impossibilty. For Hibari Kyouya to submit to the enemy, to a _mist_ flame, whom he loathed and bit at no matter what kind of person the user was...

"Kusakabe-san? Do you know where Kyouya-san is?"

The silver haired man glanced up at the man beside him while pointedly ignoring Yamamoto's eyes.

"Oh, don't worry, he's still in the headquarters. He actually looked quite in shock, really."

This was bad. Hibari was clearly held back. By now, he would have normally left the mansion to do his own sort of thing. With Tsuna gone and the Ace wounded permanently, Vongola was shaking and unmistakenably falling.

Gukudera scanned the almost vacant room with weary eyes. Surrounding the table were mostly empty chairs. The only guardians who managed to get to the meeting on time were Gokudera (of course), Yamamoto, and Sasagawa. Recently, Chrome had been keeping to herself, barely communicating with anyone. And her Mukuro-sama rarely ever appeared after Tsuna's sudden personality change. His visit three days ago was actually quite a surprise. Lambo, at least, was a given. Late as always. Gokudera knew he would be sprinting down the hallway any minute now.

As if on cue:

"Hayato-nii!"

He just rolled his eyes, already too frustrated to even bother scolding him. "Come sit down al-"

"Hayato-nii!" Lambo came in, bent down, breathing hard. "Tsuna-Tsuna-nii's…!"

_Oh, fuck. What now?_

* * *

><p>Hibari Kyouya sat cross-legged on a floor mattress, gently drinking his steaming green tea. With his eyes closed, he meditated in silence. He loved his private quarters where it reminded him of Japan, giving him a sense of home. Now that he and everyone else lived in Italy, he rarely had the chance to go back to his dear Nanimori. Which was why he requested the construction of this place. But he was currently in no mood to appreciate anything at the moment.<p>

_Shit, shit, shit…what the hell is wrong with me? _He clenched the cup tighter_. Me? Losing my voice? Damnit. How degrading. _

He opened his mouth, twisted his tongue, and tried to cause a vibration in his throat for the umpteenth time.

"_ssharghh_."

Narrowing his eyes, he frowned at his tea, having a sudden urge to throw it at the wall.

_No, I shouldn't be doing this. Tsunayoshi is in danger. That man obviously has some sort of control over him, but how? _

He seethed_. He plans to reveal his identity, though. Do I have to wait until then? How annoying. _

"Kyouya?"

The Cloud Guardian nearly dropped his cup. _What! _

Silence spawned for the next minute. Hibari could feel someone behind him, and it was definitely not Kusakabe. He raised his good arm and motioned him to sit down. As he did so, he reached for another cup and poured some tea for his guest. The man eventually came around and took his spot across from him.

Hibari took a glance at him, starting a little when he made eye contact. He was still in his uniform – the irritating suit, but with his shoes off. His hands were intertwined together, resting in his lap. Ruffled and untamed, brown hair cascaded down his face yet spiked upwards in an unruly way. It was longer than usual, meaning he hadn't bothered to cut it recently, because he forced himself to drown in paperwork. But what surprised him most were the eyes. They were cold, yes, and dead. But something was…off; off from the _lifeless _Tsuna. Yes, _Tsuna _came to see him. Inside that chocolate murkiness presented fear, anxiety, some sort of _emotion_. Hibari had found him at last. But why? Why so suddenly bring yourself back at such an inconvenient time? The inconsiderate gaze still dominated over him, however, still controlling him. …Wait, control, domination...

Hibari's eyes thinned faintly, piecing information in his head that began to make sense. Then he tensed; something bad was going to happen.

"Kyouya...what happened three days ago?" he suddenly asked.

The skylark gave him a flat look, attached his index and third finger together and made a slashing movement at his neck. Then he shook his head, and took another sip from his tea.

"I'm sorry about your voice condition…" he said. "It would be most appropriate if Vongola would learn sign language."

Hibari interpreted this as a jab to his pride, so he stiffened but didn't do anything. _This _is_ the cold Tsunayoshi after all…no, wait…then what is he doing here?_

"How did it happen? You becoming mute?"

The Cloud Guardian just stared at his boss, his eyes glazing over with steel. _None of your business. _

"Kyouya, this is a demand from Vongola Decimo. Please give me a full report."

The younger man began pulling out some paper and his famous pen from his pocket. Hibari raised an eyebrow. He hesitated before reaching out for the utensil, accidentally brushing their fingers together. But as soon as he was about to touch the pen, it suddenly clattered to the floor.

"It's all your fault!" he howled unexpectedly. That tiny sign of fear took over him now, but the color of his eyes remained dark and unappealing. The personality twist was so abrupt that Hibari actually had to take some time to regain his composure. "How could you? If you had listened to him, I wouldn't have to-!"

Something flashed and glinted. The action was so unexpected that Hibari could only sit there and watch.

"_Tsk, Hibari-kun, I would think you would know better. I highly encourage you to listen to me before _you_ send your precious boss to his death." _

Vongola Decimo had stabbed himself with a knife precisely above his abdomen, leaning towards the right side.

"_What do you want?" _

Hibari eyes widened.

"_Hm? Well, I want you dead, of course."_

And before Tsuna could pull the blade out and do something even worse, Hibari finally took action and caught him. Right when he was about to deal the final blow to knock him out, the mad man dug his fist exactly into his chest wound. The skylark staggered.

_How did he know…? _

In quick response, Hibari swiftly attacked a sensitive nerve near his throat, and Decimo's body fell limp in his arm, unconscious.

_Shit, his wound, _he swore as blood spilled onto his signature, black yukata. Attempting to carry the unconscious man with one arm didn't work out very well. With the right side of his bones broken, he clumsily slung Tsuna over his shoulder, but then almost buckled down in pain. The burden and Decimo's previous assault opened up his own injuries, gradually soaking more of his yukata.

_Damnit, where's Tetsu when you need him? _

With an agonizing heave, the Cloud Guardian positioned himself upright, hissing. Dragging himself and his boss, he staggered, heading for the exit. He found himself far away from his destination again, because he had pushed himself so deep inside his complex. Refraining from beating himself up mentally, he, for once, _wished_ for Kusabake's help. And to make matters worse, he couldn't even call out for him because his own damn voice was gone!

Sliding doors open was a terribly annoying task. He didn't want to use his left side since he was supporting Tsuna, and his right was just plain broken. Glowering at the obstacle, he cranked his head towards the arm sling, which stung because of the healing cut wounds around his neck. Using his teeth, he ripped the sling off, letting his useless limb to finally swing freely. He ignored the continuous aching and delicately used his right hand to skate the door open. Hauling himself forward, he remembered that he would have to cross a flight of stairs before he could reach the ER.

At last, when he managed to reach the main headquarters, Hibari was winded and limping through the hallway. He had a feeling his journey was creating a trail of blood behind him.

_Damnit, where are the cleaners? _

When he reached the stairs, he held his breath and with each _thump, thump, thump_, it hitched, obviously in pain.

"Oh, yes, yes. Tsunayoshi went to him by himself. No requests. "

_Tetsu. Finally. Where the hell did he go? _

"Really, Kabe-san? Can I please see him? Plee-aaase."

_That stupid cow idiot…What is he doing here? _

"Shouldn't you be at a meeting, Lambo?"

He inched towards a wall and stomped at it, creating a loud, thundering _crash_!

The voices stopped and Hibari heard a pattering of footsteps.

"Kyou-san!"

"Tsuna-nii!"

Both of them cried out in unison, clearly surprised. They ran over to lift his load and gasped when they saw the knife protruding from their boss' body.

"Lambo, hurry and notify the guardians. I'll bring Tsunayoshi to Doctor Shamal, don't worry.

The teenager nodded and frantically ran off. Carrying the unconscious man bridal style, Kusabake retraced his steps to go back down the stairs. Hibari followed after him, doing his best to appear normal and healthy. Later on, the two of them rushed inside the doctor's office, barging in, stressing the fact somebody needed to be treated. _Now. _The doctor didn't even pause for a millisecond. Instantly getting to work, he set aside whatever he was doing and took his patient, even ignoring that he wasn't female.

A few minutes later, the rest of the guardians piled in the ER once again, finding this scene quite familiar.

"Who did this!" Gokudera roared, his temper going out of control.

Hibari stayed impassive; again, the only one with reliable information. In the corner of his eye, his saw his assistant shoot a worried glance at him.

**"_This is what you get for not listening to me…hahaha!" _**

Hibari went rigid. _**Him! **_

Then he heard his name being called out with unnecessary volume. The Cloud Guardian tried to relax as he turned his gaze to the silver-haired man.

"You were the one who carried him! Who did this?"

He gave the younger man a deadpanned stare, and shook his head, lying. _I don't know. _

"Hayato, you are being too loud, get out," Doctor Shamal snapped. "Actually, I want all of you guys to get out."

In reply, the man _tch_ed, but unwillingly left. The others followed after him just as reluctantly.

As the skylark was just about to exit, he heard Doctor Shamal say, "Hibari-san, don't be stupid and let Kusakabe treat your wounds."

"Kyou-san!" he heard his assistant groan at his conflicting pride.

Disregarding him, he left hastily, but Kusakabe caught up to him, anyway, with a roll of bandages already in his hands. His assistant somehow managed to get Hibari to comply and to sit still in Shamal's office. As Hibari shrugged his yukata off his shoulders, Kusakabe unwrapped his soiled bandages, disinfected the open wound, and replaced them with new ones. He later persisted to get his arm back into a sling, but glared back in defiance. _Enough, or I'll bite you to death. _

When the worrywart was finally off his back, Hibari sighed explosively and let himself slump in his seat.

_So, that man continues to use Tsunayoshi's body, hoping that I will kill myself to secure his safety. What the hell, is he stupid? If he believes he'll have my life this way, he has no idea how wrong he is. I'll just have to watch Tsunayoshi's every single move. _

And Hibari smirked.

* * *

><p>asdjfkal;dj, the chapter was really choppy. Sorry.<p>

I just realized I'm unfortunately very greedy, I want reviews. D: Please? Yes, criticism is, of course, appreciated. I'm expecting it. -_-


	4. Chapter 4 Keeping Watch

There will be much more of Tsuna beginning this chapter. Yay, for the people who like him, and boo for the people who don't. But who would hate him in the first place? Well, maybe this particular Tsuna, since he so OOC. /: Sorry. I feel like this story is going too fast. /:

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR…):

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Keeping Watch<strong>

_Beep, beep, beep beep beep! _

Hibari awoke with a start, springing into action when he heard a frantic noise.

_Beep beep beep!_

In front of him, a body thrashed around, tangling his limbs with hospital sheets.

_Beep beep beepbeepbeepbeep!_

"_ssk-_"

_Damnit! My voice! _

"No, no! Please don't! I'll do whatever you say, just don't hurt them!"

_A nightmare. _

Whimpering, the dreaming man furrowed his brows and gripped the sheets. He scrunched his body together, as if trying to make himself smaller, eventually curling into a ball. Hibari crouched in, bending over the trembling body. He touched his shoulder and shook the small frame.

The wounded patient flinched at the contact and shrieked. "_No!_"

Hibari drew back at first, surprised. But then changed his mind when the man let out a soft groan and shivered harder. With more force, the skylark violently managed to get the man to finally pry his eyes open.

"…Kyouya?"

_Tsunayoshi_, he replied in his head bitterly as he sat back down on the visitor chair.

A flash of true color, fear, panic.

The skylark almost grinned. _You're in there, Tsunayoshi. Now what exactly is holding you back? _

"What are you doing here?" Decimo inquired frostily.

_Keeping watch_, the Cloud Guardian thought with an impassive face. Although, his lips vaguely twitched upwards, finding the idea quite amusing. But, obviously, the patient couldn't read his mind. So he sighed and attempted to relax back in to his bed.

"Please get out. I need to sleep."

Hibari unresponsively just sat there and continued staring at the patient. He hissed and frowned at his guardian's disobedience, but Tsuna managed to resume his deep slumber minutes later, knowing that his Cloud Guardian was very stubborn.

After watching Decimo sleep for a while, the skylark let himself scoot closer, reaching out for the man's face. Tracing his jaw line and running his own hand through feathery hair, he softened his gaze and wondered, _Who and where is your possessor? _

_I promise I will find him, capture him, kill him, whatever it takes to get you back. You have no idea how much I miss you, Tsunayoshi. _

* * *

><p>Yamamoto believed his hot-tempered companion did not deserve an apology from his own mouth. This, however, was not unusual. Actually, Yamamoto thought this every single time they got into a fight, but, in the end, the swordsman always found himself knocking to gain the man's permission to see him, guilty for no reason.<p>

He sighed, not believing he was doing this _again. C'mon, Hayato, can't you just let me look cool for once? _

Glaring at the door, Yamamoto raised his fist to knock, but it pulled away from him before he could do anything.

The two of them froze at their spots, both staring at each other in awkward silence.

"Uh-"

"Er-"

They began at the same time, but then stopped to let the other continue.

"You can go first, Hayato," the taller one offered, smiling, obviously baiting him in.

The silver-haired man glanced away, clearly flustered. "...Could you please move? I need to visit Jyudaime right now."

Yamamoto frowned. _Oh_.

Suddenly, he didn't feel like apologizing anymore. "Can I come with you?"

Gokudera blinked at him, decisions rolling through his head. "Okay."

Grinning back, Yamamoto moved away from the doorway to let him pass. _Well, that was a first. I wonder what he has in mind. _

The two guardians went through four flights of stairs down to the basement, neither of them talking along the way (to Yamamoto's disappointment). When they reached their boss' room, they realized another man occupied the place. The Cloud Guardian was sleeping on the visitor chair on the right of Tsuna's bed. They paused before entering, but right when Yamamoto and Gokudera stepped in as quietly as possible, the skylark's eyes flashed open.

"Ah, Kyouya-san!" Yamamoto greeted. "I didn't know you were in here."

Hibari nodded back in acknowledgement and straightened up in his chair. The new visitors went over to the only taken bed, glancing at their boss with concern. Then both of them frowned at the same time.

"Jyudaime…Is he having a nightmare?" Gokudera asked incredulously, eyes widening at the sight of Tsuna's pained face. He unconsciously laid a gentle hand on his Jyudaime's shoulder as if to comfort him.

Immediately, the patient cringed away from the touch.

Shocked, he removed his hand and then stuffed both of them in his pockets. He spotted sweat under Decimo's bangs and his jaw seemed unreasonably tight. Yamamoto could tell the silver-haired man was panicking. Smiling, he softly slid his fingers onto Tsuna's, ignoring how it had shied away from him. He just caught it again, holding it firmly this time. Closing his eyes, he let his resolution harden and his Vongola ring activated, blue flames exploding. He allowed his flames to transfuse by the skin contact, seeping into his boss' nerves. Almost instantly, Tsuna's agonized expression disappeared into peace, and his limbs finally went into soothing limp.

Gokudera breathed a sigh of relief, and Hibari noticeably relaxed in his chair.

"…Thank you."

The swordsman raised an eyebrow and took his hand away from Tsuna's. He grinned and moved it towards Gokudera's shoulder, casually laying it there.

"No problem."

And to Yamamoto's delight, the man didn't shrug it off, but he didn't lean into it either.

After a few moments of silence and watching their boss dream in tranquility, Yamamto said,

"I'll be leaving first, Hayato. I actually have something to do," he told him, but the man only nodded, attention too focused on his precious boss. Freeing his hand from Gokudera's shoulder, the swordsman exited to leave them alone. He felt unsatisfied as he walked down the hallway to head back to the lobby.

_I can't believe I was actually hoping that Hayato would apologize first. What the hell am I thinking? With Kyouya-san's accident and Tsuna's knife wound piled up together, it looks like Hayato won't be able to guilt himself to say sorry. But he can't possibly blame me for all that. I know he'll find Kyouya-san at fault sooner or later. _

_Oh, Kyouya-san…what's with his situation? He obviously has some answers, but he refuses to tell anyone anything. And where is Kusabake-san…?_

At the lobby, Yamamoto spotted a middle-aged woman wiping the dust off of antique furniture. Suddenly having an idea, he strode over to her and flashed her his infamous killer smile.

"Good morning!" he addressed her cheerfully.

The woman blushed at the unexpected attention. "G-Good morning, Yamamoto-sama."

"Haha, just Yamamoto is fine," he said, easing her in to casualness. "You've heard about Decimo, right? I'm sure there were a lot of tracks. Do you happen to know who cleaned it up?"

"Uhm, well, all of us kind of did, Yamamoto-san," she stuttered.

"Haha, then do you remember where it led to?" he asked, giving her another smile.

"Eh! Um, it came from the private area on the first floor," she replied, but then he eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, Yamamoto-san! We should have cleaned that area as well!"

"No, no. It's okay. Please continue your work. Thank you so much!"

The swordsman walked away from the red-faced woman, pondering. _Of course. Kyouya-san was wearing his yukata in the ER. I didn't even have to ask her in the first place. _

Yamamoto reached the far right side of the Vongola mansion, coming into a sign that read something along the lines of authority access only. He stepped closer to the locked gate and raised his right fist to jab his ring into the key holder. The lights around the metal door blinked green, and it slid open, allowing him in.

_Haha, Kyouya-san was quite angry when Tsuna declined his request of absolute private access. He wanted it so only Kusabake and he could enter the quarters, but Tsuna made it so all the Vongola ring holders could go in._

Almost at once, the swordsman noticed dried blood streaks that splattered the floor. Suddenly impatient, he ran along with the tracks, wanting to see how it actually happened. He had to go through several sliding doors and was amazed at how big the area actually seemed.

_Man, Kyouya-san, you dug yourself quite deep in here. _

When the trail finally stopped, Yamamoto saw somebody furiously trying to scrub the off the stains.

"Kusakabe-san!"

"Oh, Yamamoto-san, what are you doing here?" the man look up from his crouched position, a soiled washcloth in his hands.

"Haha, I just wanted to see if there were any clues."

"You're certainly right about clues. I'm surprised that nobody came down to see them. Besides you."

Yamamoto walked over and squatted next to the older man.

"You want to hear what I gathered?" Kusakabe asked. "Don't worry, my investigation skills aren't that bad, and the evidence was laid out pretty clearly."

"Sure."

"To start, yesterday, Tsunayoshi himself came down here. Kyou-san didn't even request for a meeting."

"What!"

"I agree, very shocking. However, let me continue. I was on my way to the meeting, so I didn't get to send Tsunayoshi in. The evidence here," Kusakabe pointed to a large crimson spot, "obviously shows either Kyou-san stabbed Decimo, or Decimo stabbed himself. An intruder would be highly unlikely. I would have found a dead corpse by now. For Kyou-san to let the enemy run unharmed seems impossible."

"So Tsuna…tried to kill himself?"

"Yes. Kyou-san would never think of harming him."

"But why?" Yamamoto said, perplexed.

The man shrugged. "Kyou-san knows."

The swordsman scoffed, knowing that getting information from him deemed infeasible.

"Another thing, I had to treat Kyou-san's wounds yesterday. They had opened up again. Although that can be explained from him carrying another man's weight, but I have a feeling Tsunayoshi attacked him."

Yamamoto mulled over the facts. "Thank you, Kusakabe-san, I'll report this to the other guardians."

He bowed and left, retracing his steps by glimpsing at the blood marks.

_Tsuna's actions have become unpredictable. Years before, the only reason he would think about killing himself would be to sacrifice his own body to protect his guardians. Is he still thinking the same way?_

* * *

><p>After the silver-haired man left the hospital, Tsuna woke up again an hour later.<p>

"Kyouya, why are you still here?"

The skylark only smirked and handed him a cup of water.

The patient eyed it distastefully but took it, however the Cloud Guardian still held his grip on the cup. Then he came closer to slide a hand under Decimo's back to prop him up to a sitting position. He felt him tense at the physical touch, but Tsuna let his guardian support him, anyway. Hibari tipped the cup, bringing it to the man's mouth to let the water in, but Tsuna just glared back in return.

"Stop it, Kyouya," he snapped, "I can do this myself."

But he ignored him.

Once the cup was empty, Hibari gently let the patient to lie back down in the sick bed.

"_Stop it, Kyouya," the young man whined, making sure to elongate the other's name. "I can do this myself." _

"_No you can't," he retorted while loosening the tie of his lover's neck, eventually taking it off. "You're injured. You better stay still." _

"_It's just some broken bones," the young man persisted, but he let the other unbutton his shirt, anyway. _

"_It's just some broken bones and a terrible bruise," the skylark corrected him. "Tsunayoshi, no matter how hard you try, you're still the same." _

_He pouted. "It was Lambo's fault, okay? I didn't know he was sprinting at me." _

"_But you still fell down the stairs," Hibari shot back when he finished unbuttoning the shirt. Then he went over to Tsuna's drawer to get his pajamas. _

"_Ugh, you're impossible, Kyouya," he complained._

_The Cloud Guardian only smirked as he removed Tsuna's arms from the sleeves. He leaned over and gave the half-naked man a chaste kiss to satisfy him then continued with dressing Tsuna for the night. _

"_Raise your arms," Hibari demanded, and he pulled the nightshirt over his head. Then he started going for his pants. _

"_Kyouya! I can really do that by myself-"_

_He silenced the noisy man with another kiss. "No you can't." _

"_Kyouuu-yaaa!" _

_Tsunayoshi…_

Hibari jumped.

_Tsuanyoshi! What the hell are you doing? _

The hospital sheets on the bed were strewn over, and Vongola Decimo was almost out of the room, somehow holding another damn knife in his hand.

_Shit, what's wrong with me? I didn't even hear him get out of the bed!" _

The Cloud Guardian sprinted after him, dismissing the throbbing ache from his wounds. Tsuna was already halfway down the hallway, miraculously running as if he was completely healthy. But Hibari was Hibari. Hibari was Vongola's Cloud Guardian, Ace, and strongest man. Screw his injuries, he was going to catch up to him and knock him out again if he had to.

Seconds later, Hibari caught hold of the man's wrist, harshly pulling the body towards himself. Tsuna flailed and thrashed, and the skylark gripped at the other hand that held the weapon. With an unexpected amount of strength, Tsuna managed to retract an arm from Hibari's grasp and thrust his elbow into his chest.

He grunted and involuntarily released his hold. _What? How? How does he know where my wounds are? Nobody should…! Maybe Tetsu, but! _

Tsuna spun around, not giving him any rest and brought down another blow. However, the victim blocked the attack, and a tonfa appeared out of nowhere, swinging at the knife.

_Clang!_

The sharp weapon clattered to the floor, and Tsuna growled. He hurried to reach for it, but the skylark kicked it away. It spun farther down in the hallway, around fifteen feet away from the battle scene. Hibari expected Decimo to run after it, but he just froze at his spot, eyes widening to an impossible size. Then a familiar voice bellowed into his ears:

"_**Stop fucking around, you brat!" **_

_Him again! That man!_

All of a sudden, Decimo collapsed to the ground, a hand holding his head in pain. Hibari frowned. He bent down, forgetting that he was a threat and touched his face.

"Kyouya..." Tsuna gasped, "please give me the knife, please."

He was begging. Tsuna was begging. Not the lifeless Tsuna, but Dame-Tsuna was back and begging.

_No way. _

_I need rain flames. _Now.

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><p>...I totally rushed through this. My writing skills are degrading by the day.<p>

PLEASE REVIEW! D:


	5. Chapter 5 Erased

AHHHHH. How come nobody told me that I was spelling **Kusakabe**'s name wrong? D:

Oh, and there's a little fluff in here…just saying. So people who don't like it…well, er, sorry? D: It's almost my first time writing something like that…so it's going to be blehhh.

**To Kuro-chan: **Thank you so much for the review! It was…my only motivation, two days ago? Lol XD AHHH, I LOVE THAT "Angstily cute" :3 It's now going to be my phrase of the week, hahaha! Please keep reading and reviewing! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR…):

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Erased<strong>

_Bash! _

Hibari couldn't help it. Watching his boss who went on his knees and _pled_ for that cursed weapon just killed his heart. He knocked him out again for both his and own benefit and sighed in relief.

The skylark loosened his tie and glanced down through his shirt. Inspecting if his wound opened up again or not, he peeked through the bandages. It was definitely throbbing, and the skin surrounding the injury shown angry red. Any substantial movement would certainly break the delicate scabbing and make him bleed again.

Bending down, he sneaked his arms under Tsuna's body and brought him up bridal style, but he made sure his left arm carried most of the weight. Then he started for the stairs.

_Yamamoto Takeshi…I need his rain flames. A much better way to calm Tsunayoshi down when he is trying to hurt himself rather than knocking him unconscious. Surely, that would do brain damage in the future. _

Growling as he went up the steps, he halted near the top.

_But then I would have to explain the situation if I ask for him…Tsunayoshi is _mine. _My problem. My issue. My fault. _

Then he shook his head and continued. _Tsk, what am I thinking? It's impossible for him to get me to talk in the first place. _

_Tsunayoshi…I hope this works. _

* * *

><p>"Hayato?"<p>

_Knock knock. _

"Hayato, are you in there?"

The door swung open. "Grahhh, you baseball idiot, what do you want?"

Yamamoto grinned. An explosion of joy rumbled through his stomach. The called for man poked his head out, an annoyed expression spread across his face; his silver locks tied back in a ponytail and glasses nearly sliding off his nose.

"Can I come in?" the swordsman asked, trying to keep his outburst of glee in control.

The man paused. "Give me a sec."

Yamamoto did not 'give him a sec' and nearly skipped into his room.

"Hey, I told you to wait!"

When Yamamoto fully entered the man's living quarters, he realized why he had been told to stay outside. Strewn on the floor was Gokudera's CAI belt, and his boxes scattered messily around it. On his desk, piles of documents and open books accumulated on the tabletop. To add more to the chaos, a large "cat" lay sleeping across the room, taking up more than half the space.

"Wow."

"Baseball idiot, why didn't you listen to me?" Gokudera grumbled as he took his glasses off. He strode over to his desk and began clearing up the mess. The swordsman followed him and looked over his shoulder.

"What were you doing?" Yamamoto inquired curiously, glancing over at some of the papers. _Rain Flames, Uses of Rain Flames, Rain Qualities, Rain Symptoms…what? _

"None of your business," he snapped as he continued to put more things away.

"Aw, c'mon, Gokkun, tell me. And why were you just researching about this particular flame?"

Gokudera flushed at the nickname. "Don't call me that. And like I said, _none of your business._"

"Okay, okay," Yamamoto's grin grew wider.

The silver-haired man moved over and bent down to retrieve his belt. Organizing the box weapons back to his preference, he buckled it to his hip after he was done with skilled precision.

"Uri, sorry, but you have to go back in."

The cat awoke at her name and mewed. Turning her head towards her owner, she hissed back rebelliously. Gokudera sighed as if this was a daily problem.

"Don't make me force you," the owner threatened.

"Haha, it's okay, Hayato. I'll let Jirou out so they can play together."

Gokudera face faltered. "Er, Jirou? You know they don't get along with each other well…"

Of course, their relationship based a lot off of their owner's _cough_love-haterelationship_cough. _

"Nah, it's fine," Yamamoto said, laughing. Unpocketing his box weapon, he held it out and fed it with his blue flames. A peppy dog jumped out a short moment later, wagging a furry tail.

"Oh, shit. I gotta open the window. Quick."

_CRASH! _

Too late. The pair of them went cruising straight into the glass, mercilessly shattering it into pieces. Happy barks and irritated mews could be heard off in the distance.

"Fuck, another bill," the silver-haired man muttered. "Agh, baseball idiot! This is your fault!"

"Maa, maa, I'll pay for it, 'kay?"

"You better."

There was a little lapse of silence as both stood next to each other, listening to animal shouts. The swordsman stared at the ground before taking a deep breath.

"So, Hayato," Yamamoto began, "you're calling me 'baseball idiot' again."

The man sighed in response, knowing where this conversation was heading.

"Does that…mean you forgive me?"

Gokudera looked away and mumbled something.

"Sorry? Didn't quite catch that, Hayato."

"What's there to forgive?" Gokudera managed to say audibly, blushing once again.

"Hehe!" the swordsman smiled broadly. "My mistake!"

He tilted in closer and pressed his lips against the man's forehead, still smiling. Just a little sign of affection; not wanting to push it too far. But before he could pull away, Gokudera hungrily captured the other's mouth with his own as if they hadn't made contact in years. Which, in a way, was sort of true.

"But _damn_ that Hibari!" _I knew it, blame it on Kyouya-san, _Yamamoto thought knowingly. "He needs to give me some answers!"

_Oh, and speaking about Kyouya-san…I need to tell Hayato about Tsuna's strange motives. Ahh, that can wait, right? _

"Haha, Hayato, you need to respect his privacy."

"Not _his_ privacy. It's _Vongola's_ privacy."

Yamamoto chuckled. "Maybe."

He kissed him again, deeper this time, pushing years worth of overflowing emotions to make his feelings clear. Wrapping his arms around the shorter man's neck, the swordsman brought him in closer, finding his warmth quite addicting. He bit at Gokudera's lower lip, asking for entrance.

"Uhhn…Takeshi," he moaned and immediately flushed a bright red at his slip of words.

In response, Yamamoto plunged his tongue into the open mouth, joy bursting excitedly. Swirling skillfully, the swordsman dominated over him so hard that Gokudera could only stand there helplessly, groaning with pleasure. The silvered-haired man greedily clutched at the other's suit, fumbling at the blazer's buttons. Releasing the kiss, the swordsman moved over to force his lips on the man's jaw, neck, then-

_Bamkssshh!_

Both jumped up with a start and pulled away from each other in an instant.

"K-Kyouya-san?"

The skylark glared back at them, seemingly annoyed. In his arms, Vongola Decimo slept against his chest, totally out and lost in dream world.

"Er, Kyouya-san, do you need something?" Yamamoto asked tentatively as he glanced down worriedly at the man next to him who was going through multiple shades of red.

Hbari nodded at the swordsman and motioned to come along with him with a finger.

Glancing down at Gokudera again, Yamamoto leaned in and gave a swift kiss. "I'll be back, okay?"

He face just grew impossibly redder in response.

Yamamoto followed the Cloud Guardian out of Gokudera's room. _I wonder what he wants with me. And why is Tsuna out of hospital care? _

The Cloud Guardian didn't stop in the hallway. He continued to go farther down, and Yamamoto realized that Hibari was heading for his own room.

_Wow, I have never seen Kyouya-san let anyone in his quarters besides himself and Tsuna. _

Fumbling, the skylark managed to unlock and open his door with Tsuna still in his hands. When Yamamoto offered to carry him, he hissed, telling him to back away. Possessive as always. The two of them went in with the shorter man leading them. Pausing, Yamamoto halted at the front of the room as he watched Hibari gently set Decimo on his bed. His fingers lingered at his brown hair before he pulled away, noticeably reluctant to let go. Then the Cloud Guardian headed towards his desk, grabbing a piece of paper and an ink pen.

_He's communicating! _

Hibari gestured him over when he finished scribbling down his words. Complying, the swordsman walked towards the desk and read the note with curious eyes.

'Need your Rain flames. For Tsuna'

Brief, short, to the point. Just like Hibari. And being 'just like Hibari' didn't make Yamamoto very satisfied.

"Why? For his nightmares?" he asked as he locked gazes with steel-gray eyes.

Hibari slowly nodded to reply.

But Yamamoto shook his head, becoming serious. "Kyouya-san, I know you want to keep everything to yourself, but I want some answers. We _all_ want some answers."

His eyes flashed a glare of irritation.

"And I know Tsuna tried to kill himself yesterday. Kusakabe-san told me."

A gurgling noise came from Hibari's throat, and Yamamoto realized that he had just tried to speak by accident. The skylark turned towards the paper again, the pen back in his hand.

'Have idea to bring Tsunayoshi back. Requires Rain flames'

Yamamoto stiffened slightly, stunned. _Bring Tsuna…back? _

Reaching into his pocket, Hibari brought out a neutral colored box and handed it to the swordsman. He stared at it, thinking. After a second or two, he sighed and took it with his fingers. It was for Tsuna's return after all. Who in Vongola would deny helping in this situation?

"If this…experiment ends up successful, will you tell me then?" Yamamoto inquired with his gaze on the box, rotating it in his hand.

It took the skylark a full minute before he responded.

'Not everything'

Yamamoto smiled wryly as he turned the box sideways. _Of course. Well, better than nothing. _

Beautiful, calming blue flames blasted from the Rain Guardian's ring. To his fingers, the fire felt cold, but not cold enough that it felt uncomfortable to touch. It was like ice to a swelling sprain, a cool cloth to a high fever. Kind and reassuring, it washed pains and fears away – a short heavenly moment. In a sudden move, they disappeared as the ring and box connected. He poured his resolution in, to save Tsuna, to build back Vongola, to smile wholeheartedly every single day. And his promise, to protect his friends, especially Decimo, so that no one could suffer the agony of mental or physical wounds, the terrible emotion of guilt, or the breaking thought of loneliness of not being rescued. He released.

In front of him, Hibari took the storage box with a delicate hand. His hard, steel-gray eyes softened as he fingered the box. Then he looked at the piece of paper, hesitantly grabbed the pen, and scrawled down two words.

'Thank you'

Yamamoto smiled once more and left.

The Cloud Guardian waited until he was finally sure the man had gone out of hearing range before he did anything. He first set the box on his desk, and then entered the bathroom to retrieve a roll of fresh bandages and disinfectant. Returning to the previous room a minute later, he walked over to his bed and observed the man who currently occupied it. Hibari touched his face affectionately before turning him over to untie the hospital gown (yes, he's still wearing that thing). As he pulled it down halfway, he began peeling off the old bandages to inspect his wound.

Hibari's breath hitched.

_What! _

Slightly frantic, Hibari unwrapped the bindings faster, but did not find what he wanted to see.

_What happened to his injury? It's gone! _

No scar. No marking. Nothing. It was as if yesterday's events didn't happen at all.

_Shit, I don't have an answer for this. What's going on? _

The body stirred.

"Kyouya…?"

The man blinked and rubbed his eyes. Then he looked down at his "clothes" and frowned.

"Kyouya, what happened?"

Hibari ignored him and went to his dresser to pull out a proper shirt and a pair of pants. He threw them over to Decimo with one hand and closed an open drawer with another. Tsuna looked at them with a puzzled face but put them on, anyway. As he got himself dressed, Hibari walked to his desk and flipped the used paper over. He wrote down some more words.

While buttoning up his shirt, Tsuna was given the paper. He gave Hibari a weird stare before reading the note.

'Your wound?'

Then Tsuna had a look on his face that said, 'Have you gone insane?'

"What in the world are you talking about, Kyouya? And how come you're not speaking to me?"

Hibari stood frozen, unbelieving.

"You're not mute, you know."

* * *

><p>Ahaha! Oh, dear.<p>

Yeah, I know, no action. /:

A litte JirouUri, there. xD And I know storage boxes can't store flames (I think), but they do in here!

Please reviewww D:


	6. Chapter 6 A Glimpse of Him

I think I gave some people the wrong idea last chapter…I know this story is really confusing, but everything will be explained sooner or later! **Important: **Tsuna is _not_ back to his normal self. He's still 'lifeless'. He only had 'amnesia' or 'lost his memories' the last chapter, which made Hibari really surprised. His memories were only 'erased' up to the point when Hibari went on that mission.

Oh, and I apologize for my lack of science knowledge…so don't laugh. Rawr…/:

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR…):

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: A Glimpse of Him<strong>

Only seconds after Yamamoto left his room, Gokudera heard another knock on his door. Grumbling unintelligent words under his breath, he went over to receive his visitor.

"Shamal?" the silver-haired man exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"It's an emergency, Hayato," the doctor said quickly, "about Hibari-san."

Gokudera frowned. "What is it?"

"I just came upon it recently. Good thing I was curious, or else we wouldn't know what hit us," Doctor Shamal began, "I don't have time to explain all the details, so I'll shorten it. I was looking through Hibari-san's blood tests and X-ray scans. I have a feeling that whoever the attacker was injected a virus into him and deliberately made it so it seemed like he became mute by physical wounds. The virus mutates the victim's genes and spreads. Since the test wasn't recent, I don't know what the virus is essentially aiming for, but it's not good."

"What!" Gokudera hissed. _Ugh, damnit! It's problem after problem. _"Is there a cure?"

"That's why it's an emergency! I don't know. I've never seen such a thing. So I've come to ask if you could order Shoichi and Spanner back from England. I know they work with mechanics, but they are no doubt smart."

"Okay, Shamal, I'll get on to it immediately. You hurry and go work on a cure."

"Thanks," the doctor nodded in satisfaction. "Oh, and I would advise not to tell anyone, especially Hibari-san," he shuddered, "for now. Too much panic."

And then he left in haste.

Gokudera let the door shut with a slam as he fell against the wall and slid down, stunned and in turmoil. A virus...a virus in Hibari Kyouya. Made him mute, and was spreading. In the end, what would happen? The enemy, who had permanently damaged the Ace, and _still _could damage him in ways unknown, seemed wholly capable to properly threaten Vongola. An invasion right now could certainly bury the family under the dirt. With Tsuna broken in ways unexplainable, and their strongest man possibly falling to his death day by day, Gokudera didn't quite know what to do.

As time flew past, he didn't know how long he sat there until Yamamoto returned and started fussing over him.

"Hayato! What happened?"

"…Nothing, baseball idiot," he said and leaned forward to kiss the other, asking for a distraction.

* * *

><p>Hibari Kyouya didn't know what to do. He was confused, shocked, and furious. In front of him, a brunette waited for an answer as he slid his legs into a pair of pants. The Cloud Guardian clenched his fists, trying to calm down, but his brain sped ahead. <em>Fine, Tsunayoshi may have lost his memory, but it won't hold me back. My plan will still work. <em>

With harsh, impatient movements, he snatched the flame-filled storage box from the desk and slammed his Vongola ring into the opening. Retracting, his original purple fire had transformed to a temporary blue. The skylark grimaced at the sight, immediately disliking the feel of the foreign flame. Too gentle, too… herbivorous. But he acknowledged the powerful resolution that mixed along with the tenderness. Withdrawing further, he then firmly set his hand on Decimo's forehead as if he was checking for a fever.

"Kyouya! What are you doing?"

In response, Hibari growled and glared at the man to shut him up.

Once he had inserted all the Rain flames into Tsuna's body, the brunette noticeably slumped and his eyes drooped.

"…Kyou…ya…what?" he mumbled and fell forward against Hibari's chest.

Making sure that his hand was still on the man's forehead, Hibari moved the brunette so that he was lying on the bed. A second later, the skylark effortlessly lit up his own ring, pleased at seeing his own Cloud flames surrounding it.

_Propagation. _

Almost instantly, blue fire exploded and wafted over Decimo like a blanket. Doubling and then multiplying, it accumulated. Yes, Rain flames calmed and comforted people, but consuming an abundant amount was never healthy. Too much could cause a never-ending sleep, death – exactly what the skylark was aiming for.

Tsuna's eyes snapped open.

Hibari smirked.

_It worked. _

Removing his hand, the Cloud Guardian stepped back as he observed Decimo replace himself to a sitting position. When he made eye contact, Hibari's mouth twitched farther upwards at his brilliant success. Tsuna's – no – _the man's _eyes were now crimson red and sadistic.

"Ehhh? Hibari-kun, I have to give it to you. I never knew you were so _damn smart_."

He slipped off the bed.

"I can't believe you used my own hostage to bring me out. Quite devious of you, but I guess I gave too many answers away."

Replying, Hibari surprisingly brought up his arms and shifted them with quick and skillful gestures.

"Oh? Learned sign language quite fast, didn't you? But sorry, I can't answer those questions," 'Tsuna' said, red eyes flickering in amusement.

Taking a few steps closer, the brunette made it so the two of them were nose to nose. He tipped in, their cheeks brushing, and whispered into the skylark's ear, "But would you like to know _where _Tsuna-kun is?"

Hibari stiffened but did not draw away.

Sliding arms around the taller man's waist, Decimo brought him in towards his body as he planted lips on Hibari's jaw. A low hiss rumbled through his throat as the Cloud Guardian shoved the offending man away. _What the hell-? _

"Kyouya?"

_What? _

Hibari stared into the brunette's eyes, astonished to see pure, caramel brown looking back at him. Hesitating, he brought an unbelieving hand to caress the man's face. _Tsuna…yoshi? _

"Kyouya, why? Why did you push me away?" he asked, voice filled with anguish.

A wrench of guilt shot through Hibari's heart as he caught the pained look in the man's eyes. He went in closer, still in disbelief, and kissed him softly on the forehead. _I'm sorry. _Instinctively, Tsuna turned his head upwards and pressed his lips on the skylark's mouth, bringing his fingers to tangle in raven hair. The Cloud Guardian kissed back, too baffled to comprehend what was going on.

_What the hell am I doing? Tsuna…this isn't Tsunayoshi. No – _

"Uhhhn!"

Hibari stumbled backwards, clutching the side of his waist as blood poured and seeped through his fingers. Gritting his teeth, he spotted a dagger in Tsuna's hand, covered with dark, thick liquid that slowly dripped to the floor.

_Him and those damn knives! And how stupid am I to…! Ugh! _

Bringing out his tonfas, Hibari's eyes widened as he saw Mist flames wash Tsuna's figure away. In replacement, a tall, heavy-built man appeared in his room. Deep, dark wild hair, a cruel smile, and wicked red-colored eyes. It was the same man. The same man from that mission; the same man who spoke those few, mocking sentences in his head; the same man who had Vongola Decimo as hostage for the past _three fucking years_.

His ultimate goal? Destroy Vongola? Take over Vongola? Sure, but Hibari didn't care. All he knew and wanted to do was to beat the hell out of this guy, who had tormented his boss, the guardians, and himself. And here was his chance. The man had dared to appear in front of him, used Tsuna to weaken him, stab him, and stagger him back. He was shaking, shaking in excitement to get his hands on the man's neck and wring the life out of him, destroy his soul. So Hibari had enough. Screw the logic and screw rational reasoning; let his rage bite him to death.

Cloud flames roaring, the skylark swung his tonfa at the man's face. He dodged, and Hibari pummeled forward. The man countered as he shot his leg out, kicking for his back. The guardian spun around, senses activating and blocked the assault with his weapon.

_PLIIIKASH! _

Stunned, Vongola's Ace went crashing through his own window, glass splintering and slitting bare skin. He tumbled out and slammed onto the roof, rolling. His opponent swiftly jumped through the new opening to come after him, a smirk lining his lips.

"Hibari-kun, I expected more of a fight."

Glowering, the wounded man got to his feet and charged. In the process of sprinting over, he reached for his box weapon and opened it. Instantly, the pet hedgehog expanded, its needles puncturing the roof shingles. The enemy sidestepped through the attack as Hibari leaped up to grab a spike with one hand and handcuffs appearing in another. Swinging himself off, he aimed a foot at the man's face, momentum pilling up as he dropped from the air. He blocked it with his forearm; the aggressor used it as a foothold, bent forward, pushed off, and unlocked the cuff to grab hold of the victim's neck. It clicked on empty air as the man escaped. As Hibari fell to the shingles, he sent miniature versions of his Roll. In defense, the red-eyed man slapped them away with his knife, but at his last swing, the weapon cracked and broke to pieces. He scoffed and was then sent flying off the roof when the guardian caught him preoccupied. Falling to the third floor, Hibari went after him, giving him no rest. He pinned the man down with his knees before he could get up and brought his arm back to deal another blow.

A cruel smirk. A burst of mist flames. A pair of wide brown eyes.

And before Hibari could stop himself, his tonfa brutally battered Tsuna right in the face.

"Unghh…"

_**Shit! **_

"_**Ahahaha! Hibari-kun, how could you hit your loved one so viciously? **_

One glance at the man under him, and the skylark knew something was wrong.

_Damnit, bring Tsunayoshi back, you bastard! _

How much he wanted to say that out loud. To scream it, to pound it at him, to pour all his resentment and fury into those words. But he couldn't. He couldn't speak, threaten anyone, or even apologize to one he loved. He could only boil his thoughts in his own mind and continuously live in guilt and isolation.

"_**Oh, and to gift you, I will answer one question. I erased **this __**Tsuna-kun's memory. He was being quite difficult for having continuous thoughts of suicide. I don't want him dead yet, you know. See you soon, Hibari-kun." **_

_Crrrshhh! _

The Cloud Guardian slammed his fist into the roof singles, ripping his skin, but he felt no pain. How dare he! How dare he ceaselessly use Tsuna as a doll to take his hits and to trample others with guilt? Evil, merciless, and cowardly! And where was the true Tsuna? Chained up in a grimy cell? Being buried alive? He wanted to kill himself, because he couldn't take the torture, his endless torment, wasn't it? And he waved his hand, washed his memories because those thoughts didn't fit his plan. Just a toy!

_He…needs to be bitten to death! _

"Kyou...ya?"

Hibari perked up to see Decimo's eyes open. Alive, full of color, emotional. _Is this another trick…?_

"Kyouya, listen," he said, almost urgent. "It's me, Tsuna. He's letting me talk to you for just a minute. Stay _away_. Stop watching over me. I know what I'm doing. Stay away or you'll…regret it. This is an order."

_Vongola Decimo or not. Like hell I'm ever going to listen to you, Tsunayoshi. _

"I love you."

Stunned, Hibari sat there in amazement. Three years. Three years since he had said anything that held consideration or any sense of warmth. Finally, he received reassurance they were still holding onto each other, still hoping. But was hope going to help? Did it hold enough motivation to bring that man down, to destroy his existance? No, they needed determination, a strong steel sword to pierce his ugly heart. Hibari needed answers. Where was he? What was his plan? What did he _want_?

Irritation and impatience breaking through, Hibari bent down and kissed him fiercely, wishing they could stay like this, wishing that nothing wrong had happened since the very beginning. _I love you, too._

The brunette broke away and looked at the man above him with sad eyes. "I gotta go. Stay wary of the Mist."

Dead, lifeless, blank. Three years of suffering wasn't going to end right now.

...

"…Kyouya, please get off of me."

* * *

><p>I have learned something: fight scenes are INSANELY hard to write. TT^TT<p>

And I think I made everything just even _more_ confusing. Guh, I suck. -.-

PLEASE REVIEWWW. D:


	7. Chapter 7 Old Friends

I'm gonna take a break from action in this chapter. -.- I think I killed myself the other day for trying to think up of a battle scene…which ended up being lame. Lawl. XD

Yes! And somebody new is finally going to take his entrance! Sort of. /: Guess who? Ahaha. XD

And I plan to explain some stuff!

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR…):

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Old Friends<strong>

_Two weeks later_

Hibari Kyouya wanted to laugh. Yes, _the_ Hibari Kyouya wanted to open his mouth, cause that funny vibration down his throat, and _laugh_.

Why? Well, Vongola Decimo was lividly furious. Of course, his face was expressionless as always, blank, lifeless. But the skylark could tell that his temper was boiling inside, on the verge of exploding.

Hibari didn't listen to him. Hibari didn't listen to _anybody_. He did what he wanted and floated above everyone else with his silent pride. Like hell he would fall and submit to his boss, even if the Sky was higher than the Clouds. So he disobeyed his only and final order. He watched Tsuna like a hawk. He became his shadow, his bodyguard, and his mother hen. For him to glance away and remove the brunette from his sight just didn't happen. He kept the man in his vision every minute, every millisecond, every single moment possible. In response, Tsuna did his very best to drive him away. He ran, hid, played tricks, but no matter what he did, Hibari would still be at his side, not letting go. So it made Tsuna angry, so angry that his vacant eyes would occasionally flash with annoyance because of his ceaseless pestering. But nothing stopped him.

And because Hibari refused to follow orders, he found out Tsuna had not eaten and had nightmares every single time he slept for the past three years.

Which explained why he never went down to the lobby to attend the family dinner. Obviously, now, the consummation of food was no longer a necessity for him. At first, Decimo had faked eating, sitting at the head of the dinning table for once in years. That certainly sent a wave a shock through the whole Vongola mansion. The chefs and waitresses threw a large feast in celebration, but in return, Tsuna ate a miniscule amount. Later that night, he requested for a moment of privacy (which wasn't granted) and threw that little sum of nourishment into a displeased toilet.

Hibari asked no questions.

The nightmares, however, interested him greatly.

Decimo had them every night and accidental nap; thrashing, screaming as he begged, and clutching the blankets. Each time he woke up, he pointedly ignored Hibari's questioning eye and continued with his paperwork. And never once he returned to his living quarters. He stayed in his office, always staring down at his desk, and moving his pen at unbelievable speeds. However, there were times when the skylark carried him to his own room as he restlessly dreamed in fear.

Yes, _that man _had everything to do with it.

He fooled Vongola for three years and was _still_ fooling majority of the family. But not Hibari. He knew he had the Sky in his control and dominated him. With the boss in his hands, he could trash or use the mafia in whatever way he wanted. He stole Tsuna's soul first, leaving an empty capsule void of sentiment. Without his warm, caring heart, the family fell into disorganization. But what Hibari didn't understand was why he was taking so long. Three years with no invasion, no attacks, almost peaceful. So what was his ultimate goal? What did he have in mind that years of preparation weren't enough? And then finally, he made his next move. To murder Hibari Kyouya. He admitted it and announced the threat straight to his face. A total _lie._

He didn't want Sawada Tsunayoshi dead, and the Cloud Guardian absolutely _knew_ that he didn't want Hibari Kyouya dead either. Murdering him was possible the first time they met face to face. The skylark had shamefully fallen to his knees and allowed himself to be beaten to the ground when the man had bluffed about killing Decimo right on the spot. And right when he injected something into his body, Hibari knew that his life was not in danger.

Yes, Hibari had kept quiet about the injection, a secret to himself. And he had a very faint idea as to what it was targeting for. If he was correct, then Death would not accept him, but he would rather die than stay alive. If whatever that was in him continued to spread and grow, Hibari knew that in the end, he would become useless, helpless, not worthy of living. So he dreaded that moment. Feared it, actually, was terrified of whatever that was taking over his body and absolutely loathed how scared he was.

But he didn't let himself to be bothered.

If it weren't for Tsuna, he would be able to talk right now, bite men to death, and experience anything but fear. But if it weren't for Tsuna, he wouldn't be able to feel guilt, love, and use his life to protect the person he so dearly cared for. So he didn't let himself to be bothered. Tsuna's existence deemed far more important than his own health and security, and that alone was enough to drive him forward.

"Kyouya!"

The Cloud Guardian raised his head in alarm, wondering what had caused Decimo to shout his name.

"Kyouya, I've been calling you for a whole minute."

_A whole…minute? Damn. _

'What is it?' he signed.

Ah, sign language. Another shocking issue. For the past two weeks, Gokudera had demanded Vongola to learn sign language. This received a lot of ferocious glaring from the Cloud Guardian, who interpreted this action as a huge dent in his pride. For his sake, members of the family had to _help_ him. Of course, nobody minded, some even eagerly studied the language, but Hibari hated how he was the burden. To everyone's astonishment, Tsuna already knew how to sign; skillfully as well. By accident, he had subconsciously answered a query that the skylark asked one day. Then his right hand man had curiously inquired when he had learned it, but Decimo did not reply.

And Tsuna's memory loss was flawed. He didn't know that the Cloud Guardian was mute but knew not to ask him questions. He didn't know that he wanted to kill himself but drove Hibari away. He didn't know that he still loved a certain particular man but did anyway.

Oh, yes, Hibari could tell. Staring at him when he thought the man wasn't looking. Clinging to him as he carried him to bed. Weeping on his chest in the middle of a nightmare. Hibari could tell it all.

"Kyouya, I want you to give these reports to Hayato-kun."

The skylark narrowed his eyes as he took the documents. 'You're coming with me.'

A flicker of irritation. "Fine."

Tsuna got up from his chair and led them out of his office. They headed for the stairs; fifth going down to the fourth floor. Several times, Decimo brushed into the taller man, bumping elbows. Hibari noticed this. _Closer by each day. _

The Cloud Guardian took the responsibility to knock on Gokudera's door moments later. It took him such a long time to receive them that the two were just about to leave when the entrance opened. Smirking, Hibari noticed that his hair was ruffled, face flushed, and buttons appeared mismatched.

"Jyudaime!" the silver-haired man exclaimed, not expecting a visit from his boss.

Everyone had gotten so used to seeing the Sky and Cloud together that addressing one was the same as addressing the other. "What do you need? Your right hand man will do anything to help."

"Yes, Hayato. I just came to give you reports."

Hibari handed the papers over, feeling that this was slightly idiotic.

"Oh, I'll get on to it right away!"

_If Yamamoto Takeshi is okay with it. _

Gokudera seemed to have the same thought as he blushed and shut the door.

"Kyouya, what time is it?" Tsuna asked while pointedly looking at Hibari's left wrist.

The taller man glanced at his watch first before showing it to the brunette: 6:37

"Then we'll go to your room first. Please get dressed for dinner."

_Dinner? You plan on throwing up again? _

"I have some news to announce," the brunette informed, reading the man's mind.

Satisfied, Hibari continued walking down the hallway to reach his quarters. He let Decimo enter first before he closed it behind him. As the skylark went over to his closet and picked proper attire, Tsuna stared at him intently. He raised an eyebrow when the brunette still held an unrelenting gaze as he stripped off his clothes.

'What is it?' he signed, now bare chested.

Tsuna paused, eyes wavering down to the man's glorious abdomen before he shook his head. After he was done, Decimo took his turn to amend his outfit and Hibari felt he deserved the same treatment. He stared.

Tsuna had become strong. He was no longer the wimpy, plant-eating animal from junior high. Although, the Cloud Guardian still couldn't label him as a carnivore; omnivore fitted him better. As he raised his arm to slide it into a sleeve, shadows outlined his hard trained muscles. His stomach tensed every so now and then, flexing his build, as he reacted to his hyper intuition. Sharp bones, sturdy limbs, and powerful arms for his punches, Decimo was said to have surpassed Giotto, the strongest boss, when he came of age. Though, Tsuna himself had denied the title. His voice had become impossibly deep as well, differing greatly from his fourteen year old high-pitched tone. Matured, manly, and made girls swoon, he pushed onwards to success. Until he fell and became lonely, antisocial, and almost terrifyingly callous.

"Kyouya, are you not coming?"

The raven-haired man jerked to his senses as he caught up to Tsuna who was already at the door.

_Damnit, stop spacing out. _

* * *

><p>The guardians were, again, quite surprised to see Decimo enter the dinning hall. However, this time, the chefs didn't bother with a feast, but the food was nicer than usual.<p>

"Boss!"

"Tsuna-nii!"

"Woah, Tsuna! You're back to the extreme! You gonna eat some extreme meat this time?"

"Jyudaime, you – oh, shit – I'm so sorry! I didn't get to your reports, please forgive me! (_Bang!_)"

"Aha, it's okay, Gokkun. Welcome back, Tsuna."

A pause. "Good evening."

Decimo took his seat at the head of the table, and his Cloud Guardian followed, sitting on his left and across from the right hand man. _Ugh, damn crowds. _

Urgent to leave, Hibari had to force himself to remain still and tolerate the unnecessary amount of people. He clenched his jaw as he observed Lambo trying to get Tsuna's attention, the boxer yelling at the top of his lungs, and Yamamoto attempting to get a shy girl talk, which led a certain somebody to get jealous. It was chaos.

And to add on Hibari's aggravation, time flowed leisurely.

Of course, Decimo didn't eat anything, which received a lot of inquiring glances, but nobody dared to ask. It was his private matter after all. The guardians took their time eating, savoring the precious moment of spending time with their boss. Something like a family get together just didn't happen anymore.

Tsuna waited for everyone to finish before he said anything. Right when he cleared his throat, the guardians instantly stopped their chatter.

_Just hurry up already. _

"I must first apologize for the short notice," Decimo began with cold eyes. "I have invited the Shimon family over as friends. We haven't gotten together for some time, and I feel this is necessary. The call was quite recent, but they insisted to arrive-"

"HAYATO-CHAAAAAN!"

"-today."

A silver-haired man noticeably froze in his seat and dropped the wine glass in his hand. (_Crash!_) His eyes widened comically in terror and panic as his head slowly cranked around towards the voice. Stumbling, he clumsily removed himself from the table and backed away. "Jyudaime, I'm so sorry! But I - fuck! - gotta go!"

Across from him, the Cloud Guardian gripped at his chair, infuriated beyond belief and seething. He was so desperately itching to bring his tonfas out and bite a horde of men to death.

_**Damn crowds! **_

* * *

><p>Oh, goodness, there goes Hibari!<p>

This was a break chapter...so not much going on.../:

Please review? D:


	8. Chapter 8 The Unexpected

Ugh, guys, next week I'm going to die, which means this story is going to die, because of stupid, stupid school. DDDD: I want a longer summer. DD: Once homework starts kicking in, I won't be updating much anymore. *sniff* Ahhh, the doom of school is starting to make me feel depressed. -.-

Well, ignore me, enjoy the chapter!

**To TheFeyRa: **Thank you so much for the review! :DDD I know it's so confusing. It's hard to remember what the reader doesn't know when you're writing the story, so if you have any reasonable questions I'll answer them. For Shimon…well, you'll see. XD And everyone will probably be introduced some time…I suppose. Please keep reading and reviewing!

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR…):

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: The Unexpected<strong>

"_What are you doing?" _

"_Exactly what you want me to do. Driving him away." _

"_It doesn't seem like it." _

"_Believe me, I know what I'm doing. I understand him much better than you do." _

_A snort. _

"_If this works…you won't hurt anyone, right?" _

"_Of course, as we promised." _

"…_You're lying." _

"_Then why are you doing this?" _

"_To protect them." _

"_Damn you, send that useless family back." _

"_I'd rather not." _

"_You want your guardians to die?" _

"_Those threats don't work on me anymore. You don't want them dead." _

"_Hm, that's true, but I can still hurt them." _

_A growl._

"_And hurt them exactly how I hurt your precious Cloud Guardian." _

"_Don't you dare-"_

"_You're not in any position to argue with me. Get rid of your guests." _

"_Why? They aren't useless. I'll manage so that he'll leave me alone. I thought you wanted that." _

"_And let you take another suicide attempt? No way." _

_A heated glare. "What are you planning? Sending him away will just increase my chance of committing suicide." _

"_You're wrong. Once he leaves you, I will activate the virus. Then chaos will erupt through Vongola, and you won't have the heart to take your own life." _

_An evil laugh. _

"_No! You can't! I'll kill myself before you can-"_

"_Tsk, don't get full of yourself. Even though it would delay my plan, I could switch your soul to a different vessel whenever I want." _

_A hiss, then faltering. "Please...don't hurt them. I'll do…whatever you want, just don't hurt them." _

_A sneer. "Oh, really? Then I thank you for the lack of trouble."_

* * *

><p>"Hayato-chan, Hayato-chan, Hayato-chan, Hayatohayatohayatohaya-"<p>

"_Damnit! _Will you _shut up_ already?"

"-tohayatohayatohayatohayato"

Oh yes, Gokudera had miserably failed at his escape attempt. Only one step through his panic attack, a certain bizarre woman had leaped and pounced at him, sending him crashing to the ground. Face now squashed against the wooden floorboards and chest between two bare knees, the silver-haired man laid there in defeat. The rest of the Vongola guardians stared at the two with shocked interest.

"hayatohayatohayatohayato"

"_Ragghhh! _Shitopi…ch-chan, could you please shut up and get off of me?"

"Hayato-chan!"

With a sudden lurch, the irritated victim was pulled to his feet and crushed into a busty body. Gokudera struggled to get out of the grasp as he flushed slightly at the contact.

"Hayato-chan, I missed you soooo much!" the woman cried directly into his ear, which made him twitch. Shitt P. then retreated a little but was still close and touched their foreheads together. "Did you miss me?"

Gokudera sighed, knowing that he would have to reply to her preference if he wanted to go anywhere alone tonight. "Yes, I missed you."

"Yay! Even though we've haven't seen each other for so long, I still love you!" she said excitedly, now making them nose-to-nose. "Do you still love me?"

Another sigh while trying to restrain himself from shying away. "Yes, I still love you."

"Yay! But you know, even though I like you more than any other, I still love myself the most."

"I know," Gokudera said as he inconspicuously tried to regain control of his own limbs. "Now will you please let go of me…Shitopi-chan?"

"Eeehhhh?" she complained, "But I still want to hug you…and then kiss you! Hehe, how about tonight?"

"…What the fu_-!_"

Abruptly, Gokudera felt familiar hands harshly jerk him away from Shitt P. They slung over him, fingers sliding to his abdomen like a protective fortress. Hot heat enclosed on his back as he felt a different body slide in closer. He glanced up, involuntarily blushing again.

"Aha, Shitopi-chan, I deeply apologize, but Hayato-kun will be occupied every night as long as _I'm_ here," the man smiled, but a vein visibly popped on his forehead.

"Baseball idiot! You-!"

"_Hayato!_"

The silver-haired man flinched. _Shit, she dropped the '-chan'._

"You've been cheating on _me_?"

Gokudera stared at the woman in disbelief. "What! I thought we established this years ago. I never thought of you in that kind of way. Besides, we've only dated twice-"

His words cut off immediately as he felt the man behind him tense. _Oh, fuck. How stupid am I? I never told anyone…!_

Spinning around, he turned to face him, thousands of possible explanations running through his head to give. But when he saw Yamamoto's shocked expression, his mind drew blank.

"Oh, my God…Hayato-nii, you dated Shitt P. _twice_?" a cow-suited teenager screamed, absolutely amazed. "Were you on drugs?"

_Fuck, fuck, fuck! I need to get out of this situation. _

"Octopus head…that's pretty extreme. I thought you were gay, to the extreme."

Right now, the silver-haired man just wanted to slam his head against the wall and forget about everything. Yes, yes, that's right, go play dead and nobody will think about it anymore after you wake up – what the hell…

"Hayato-chan, you're…gay?"

He perked and winced at the label.

"I can't believe it. I was dating with a gay U.M.A.?"

Eyebrows twitching at the ludicrous turn, Gokudera snapped. "Excuse me? U.M.A.? Who's the U.M.A. here, huh? Absurd clothes, strange meditations, self-centered opinions, outlandish haircuts! And holding on to a relationship that was obviously long gone!"

"Eeehhhh? But you-"

"Shitopi-chan, please stop bothering Gokudera-kun. He is not the one at fault."

With a jolt, everyone turned towards to the new voice. Even Hibari (who was on the verge of exploding) acknowledged the visitor, but then growled threateningly when more people poured in instead of just one.

A red-haired man stepped forward; back straight and confidence flowing out from every pore. Calm, crimson eyes gazed at the crowd, flickering with occasional amusement. His fingers, pale and lanky, slid to his thighs as he bent downwards. With shockingly graceful movements, the man then fell down to one knee, bowing in submission as shoulder-length hair fell to his face.

"Vongola Decimo, the Shimon Family greatly appreciates your upcoming hospitality and will respect it fully. And I beg for forgiveness over Shitt P.'s rudeness towards-"

"Enma-kun, you're being ridiculous. Even my guardians are staring at you weirdly. No need to be so formal. Our families are the best of friends."

The redhead paused before he slowly stood back to his feet. "I suppose your right, Tsuna-san, but Shimon will always be in debt to you."

"Please, Tsuna is just fine. And your debt is unnecessary. But I guess you wouldn't listen to me no matter how many times I say so."

"Of course," he agreed, replying with a soft smile.

In return, Decimo ruefully shook his head. "Have you and your family already eaten dinner? I certainly can't let you guys go hungry."

"No need, Tsuna-san-"

"Tsuna," the brunette corrected.

The Shimon boss hesitated. "…Excuse me. Yes, we have already eaten, Tsuna."

"Great," he replied as he got up from his chair. Immediately, his Cloud Guardian copied his move, which cause a lot of inquiring stares from the other family. "Why don't we all get together? Surely, there are many stories worth telling. It's been four years since we've seen each other after all."

* * *

><p>"<em>I'm warning you, if this doesn't work-"<em>

"_Yes, yes, I understand. I know what I'm doing." _

"…_The Vongola and the Shimon seem to have gotten distant." _

"_I wonder who we have to blame for that." _

"_Heh…fine, it is my fault. Now what are you setting up?" _

"_It'll take longer than I expected. Enma-kun is suspicious. He knows something isn't right. It will take time to regain his trust." _

"_What? You never told me this. I don't have the time to be dawdling-"_

"_But if you would let me fully return back to my body, this would certainly go much faster." _

_A moment of silence. "…Fine. But if you tell your precious Cloud Guardian anything, or even _talk_ to him, I will immediately pull you back." _

"_No worries…He wouldn't believe my return, anyway." _

"_So, what are you planning?" _

_A saddened gaze. "It all depends on Enma-kun, Adel-san, and how disgustingly terrible I can be." _

"_Heheh…I'm actually excited." _

"_I'm not."_

* * *

><p>A redhead laughed, the tone flatly fake as he reminisced about his silly family. Alongside with him was his breath catching, gorgeous bodyguard, Suzuki Adelheid. Dark hair flowing down to her hips and eyes filled with sharp charisma, she had become a definite eye-catcher. Strict, demanding, and brutal, she served as his right hand woman, living up to her title with more than just success. Now twenty-six years old and a total ice queen, the heartless woman had never once held a relationship, but had once slipped she had someone in mind. She was actually shy and afraid of rejection, obviously revealing that her confessions were unsaid.<p>

Kozato Enma was a big shock. He had grown overwhelmingly confident, almost cocky at times. Directing his family with firm words, Shimon had developed from an unknown, measly mafia group to an influential and prominent leading faction. And it was still leaping up the stats. It would be anytime soon that his family would be labeled as the second most powerful. He had matured as well, just like Tsuna. Taller than him, beautiful, and unbelievably caring, Enma was admired and no longer picked on because he was weak. But he was picked on, because he refused to make enemies, and when he did, he sympathized with them.

"Enma-kun, you've changed."

Four of them had clustered together, walking off on their own as others paired up to chat among themselves. The wrecking of furniture could be heard in the distance, most likely cause by two certain boxers.

Startled, the redhead paused before he answered. "Oh, did I? I've been getting that a lot. You've changed, too, Tsuna."

"I've been getting that a lot as well. And about Ooyama…I have to say, I was quite surprised."

"Aha, him? Yeah, he lost a lot of weight. I think it was because of his girlfriend. I hope they get married soon."

"I see, good luck to him then. So what about you, Enma-kun? Have you found anyone?"

Bristling, his face flushed to a frightening, bright red, almost matching his hair. He may have matured, but he still couldn't handle a lot of situations. "Haha, well, not really. Actually, I think it's quite pointless to wait for that person now."

Adelheid stepped in. "What are you saying, Enma? Where's all that determination you had just yesterday?"

He chuckled lightly, skin gradually returning to its original color. "Let's not worry about this, shall we? Now, Hibari-san, have you become Tsuna's bodyguard? It doesn't really seem like your thing."

Glowering, the soundless skylark inched towards his tonfas, finding his comment rather insulting. Then Tsuna put a hand on his left arm.

"Ah, yes, Kyouya can be quite a mother hen."

There was a moment of stunned silence. Even the Cloud Guardian stood rigid.

"Excuse me? Is something wrong?"

_What the hell? What the hell happened? No, no, no…I don't understand. _

"Oh, nothing, Tsuna, just surprised that you would label Hibari-san as a mother hen," Enma said, the tone of his voice strangely unsure.

_Is this a joke? _

Decimo laughed casually. "Of course. Who would think that Kyouya-"

_What the fuck. This is impossible. _

"Say, Tsuna, could I talk to you alone?"

_Why? Why? Why? Why the sudden smile? And then…he laughed? _

"Yes, of course."

_Why is he back? Why did he come back _again_? _

"Adel, you can leave. There's nothing to worry about, it's just Tsuna. And…you get some time with him," the redhead winked at her.

_I don't get it. I don't get it. Is it Tsunayoshi, or is it not? _

"Kyouya?"

The Cloud Guardian nearly started when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Jerking his head towards the voice, he tensed when he saw soft, caramel eyes staring back at him.

"Kyouya, Enma-kun wants to speak with me, is that okay?"

Then he smiled. _Again._

* * *

><p>"<em>Waaooo, I can't believe you, Tsuna-kun."<em>

"_Shut up." _

"_Intuition saw it all, huh?" _

"_Shut up!" _

"_So, when did that little kid start liking you?" _

_A pained hesitation. "…We were together in high school." _

"_Popular, aren't you? Why'd you break up with him?" _

_A snarl. "Who said I broke up with him?" _

"_Well, the little kid did say he was waiting for you. Doesn't that kinda make you the dumper?"_

"_My past life is none of your business." _

"_Heh, fine. Then what about that Suzuki Adelheid?" _

_A jealous scowl. "It was obvious, and then my intuition made it clearer." _

"_Playing it quite dirty, aren't you?" _

"_You're the one who wanted this, so shut up!" _

_An amused laugh. "Whatever you say."_

* * *

><p>LOL. Random pairings. xD Sorry for the late update...I just had a really hard time with this.<p>

Please review? D:


	9. Chapter 9 Return

More Shimon and Vongola chaos. Ahah! I think this is going to be the last chapter I'm posting before school starts. You see, I have procrastinated on summer reading, and I'm doomed. So…yeah, that's what I'm going to be working on. -.- Funny how I don't like reading…writing the story seems so much more fun. /:

**To Dream36: **Ohhhh, shoooot. TT^TT I forgot to reply to you the last chapter. Ahhhh! Forgive me. DDD: Anything you say will always be greatly appreciated, so don't worry if what you think seems like barf. xD Ughh…I can't believe I forgot to reply…Please keep reading and reviewing!

**To TheFeyRa: **Well, the chapter was called 'The Unexpected'. xD Don't worry, Julie definitely takes part of this crazy love fest. Hahaha. He's just…late. :P Thanks for the review!

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR…):

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Return<strong>

"Hayato...I'm not happy."

Squirming, the silver-haired man fidgeted as he tried to think of something appropriate to say.

"Baseball idiot, who said that you had to be happy?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't have to tell you everything I do," he snapped back, still being rebellious.

The swordsman stayed quiet, expression unusually serious. With his brows furrowed and the gaze of his eyes hard and firm, he stepped forward, hand reaching out.

"Then, Hayato, will you go on a date with me?"

Surprised, he paused before answering. "What the hell? No way."

Yamamoto dropped his hand. "Hayato, whenever you're not in my sight and I'm alone, I always miss you," he said, coming closer with each word. "Do you miss me?"

"What? What are you saying…?"

"And Hayato, from the very start, I've liked you and wanted to get your attention. No, _I loved you_." Able to feel one's breath smothering their faces, the two were just inches away now. The shorter man faltered when he saw eyes filled with pained anguish; anguish along with desperate hope and suffering of unfulfilled wishes. "And I still love you."

Stunned silence. Gokudera fell back and hit the wall behind him, cornered.

"Do you love me?"

"W-what? I-I…What kind of question is that, baseball idiot?" he stammered. "You-I mean-"

His words cut off as a hand slammed forcefully beside his head, pinning him. Deep, brown eyes bored into his, demanding for a proper answer.

"Do you even like me? …Hayato?"

"I- yes…"

"Do you like me more than Shitopi?"

"Er, of course-"

"They why?" Yamamoto asked, almost fiercely, "Why did you go out with her, something that you would _never _do, _twice_, but not with _me_? How could you so easily say 'I miss you' and 'I love you' to her, yet _I _find it so annoyingly difficult to make you say it back?

More stunned silence.

The arm fell suddenly, thumping against the swordsman's thigh, almost in…defeat. He lowered his head, fingers gripping his hair.

"What the hell…? I'm so sorry, Hayato, what am I thinking? I never even asked if you liked me in the first place. I just pulled you in from the very start, expecting mutual feelings," he laughed bitterly. "Am I stupid?"

"What!" Gokudera exclaimed, now grasping the taller man's shoulders. "What are you saying? Of course I like you!"

Another bitter laugh.

"Yes, Hayato, I'm an idiot after all," Yamamoto said, removing the hands. "Sorry."

* * *

><p>In front of him was the man who had planted a permanent memory inside his brain, never disappearing, always there to cheer or to haunt him. Acquaintances, best friends, then, finally, lovers, which ended with massive heartbreaking and tears. They shared the same bullies, problems, the same pathetic life; experiences that were both so similar that it seemed uncanny. They connected, understood each other to such an extent that speaking thoughts aloud were sometimes unnecessary. Yet, no matter how deep their bonds were, the ropes that united them eventually tore and broke away. Somebody else had taken them. Yes, sobbing, anguish, pain, even begging. It all happened. And guilt, definitely guilt. Guilt that tore the mental body, clawing it from the inside-out for obliterating someone's happiness, for creating eternal wounds that never healed. His entire fault…and certainly nobody else's.<p>

However, even through all that torture he had inflicted, all that suffering, he came back. Came back with such frantic anticipation, that a certain feeling of guilt pierced his heart over and over again whenever he gazed into his crimson eyes. It hurt. It hurt so much to look at him with a calm and indifferent face that he had to glance away, to keep the remorse in. And right when he believed he could finally forget about it and forgive himself by just a little, he had to torment that poor man again, lie to him, fake it to him, and give him another everlasting scar.

That was all he could do. Lie, fake, injure, and, in the end, he would have to take his own life without even having the chance to apologize for all his traitorous acts. He hated it. _Loathed_ it. But what other choice did he have?

"Tsuna, are you all right?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, of course," the brunette replied, smiling. Yes, smiling for the third time in three years, but they were flat, strained.

"I was…so shocked to see you, Tsuna," the other man said with a worrying stare. "So shocked that I thought you were somebody else."

_Which is partly true, _Decimo thought miserably.

"I couldn't even speak to you at first. You seemed so…guarded, cut-off, _dead_ almost. But then, just a moment ago, I felt like you...came back. It doesn't make any sense. What happened?"

Another smile. "Oh, I must have been really tired. You know, the usual paperwork," Tsuna pointed at the stacks on his desk to prove his point. Yes, they had decided to escape to the head office, leaving their "bodyguards" alone.

The redhead frowned, casting a distressed glance. "Tsuna, you don't have to lie to me. I can tell when something is wrong."

_Well, that's what I do. Lie. _All_ the time._

"Yes, but you know I can handle my own problems."

"The problem is too big for you. Don't hide it. Give me some of the burden."

"No, really, Enma-kun. Don't bother yourself with-"

"Tsuna, _please_."

A pause.

"It's just Kyouya," Tsuna said, knowing that the other could tell that he wasn't saying the truth, but took the chance, anyway. "Things aren't going very well between us."

"…Hibari-san?" he frowned when the name poured from his mouth. "I thought you guys were going to be together for life the last time I saw you."

_Ah, he's annoyed by just the mention of him. He hates him that much…_

"Oh, no. We…broke up quite long ago," Tsuna replied as a put up a sad gaze. _I can't believe this. I want to stop._ _To stop lying. _"But as friends, we've been very distant. It has been causing tensions among my family."

"What happened?"

"Enma-kun…I wish you were here," the brunette whispered, ignoring the question as he looked downwards. "You're my best friend, more than my best friend, actually. And I can't believe how much I've hurt you in the past. To hurt someone who is so kind and caring…I could never forgive myself. But in the end, it looks like I chose the wrong path."

_I hate this. I hate this. Why, why, why? I don't want to hurt you._

"Things just didn't end up well…Eventually he couldn't take it anymore. _I_ couldn't take it anymore. And I believed things would go back to normal if we just broke it up. Nothing was normal, just more chaos. I…"

"Tsuna…"

An affectionate hand caressed his cheek, the touch yearning to comfort.

In response, Decimo jerked away from the contact. "No, Enma-kun, I don't deserve this. Something so selfish as to-"

Lips. Warm lips. Soft, loving, slightly lustful.

_No, no, no, Enma. Don't listen to me. Don't do this…_

The redhead broke away, however, still close. "Tsuna, I've been always waiting for you. Always. You never left my mind. I knew that Hibari Kyouya wasn't for you. He stole you away from me and hurt you. Hurt you so much that you've become like this. I would never do something like that."

He wanted to weep, howl, bawl his eyes out, yet couldn't. Not now, not here. _Please, don't. I'm so, so sorry. Forgive me. _

But Tsuna lied, faked, and drew wounds. That's what he did with no other choice.

So he kissed the man back.

* * *

><p>"<em>Your acting skills are amazing. And that was pretty fast."<em>

_Silence. _

"_Are you crying?" _

_More silence. _

"_I can't believe it. You're crying. What the hell." _

_A broken sob. _

"_Well, that little kid sure fell for it. He's fallen over heels for you. Congrats. Now how are you going to get your precious Cloud Guardian alone?" _

"…_Shut up." _

"_No need to get so emotional. It's not like you're ever going to talk to him properly." _

"_I said _shut up_." _

"…"

* * *

><p>Hibari Kyouya couldn't believe himself. He just couldn't believe it. Just one simple smile, and his guard just completely dropped, letting that little bit of rare warmth take over him. And for the first time in weeks, Tsuna was out of his sight, strolling off with that <em>stupid redhead<em>. Now, he could only heatedly stare at the woman in front of him, who was trying to figure out what she had done wrong.

"Hibari?"

He scowled in response, hands, once again, itching for his tonfas. He so wanted to take out his anger on _something_. _Anything_.

"It's been a while."

Gritting his teeth, he tried to calm down. _No need to take your anger out on her. Just grab Tsuna back already!_

"What's wrong? Hibari?"

He managed to shake his head stiffly, unaware of Adelheid coming in closer. He was just so _mad_.

Then unexpectedly, soft arms wrapped around his waist and a chin fell on his right shoulder. She was _hugging_ him. Hibari stiffened, bothered by the contact. Raising his hands to remove himself, he was stopped as the woman held him tighter. His eyes narrowed.

"I missed you…a lot."

_Stupid woman. _

The skylark shoved her off, irritated. Then turned to glare at her with cold, inconsiderate eyes. And ran.

Yes, he ran. Ran away because he just couldn't take it anymore. Too much disorder, madness, no discipline at all. Family merging with another family; he didn't want it. He wanted to bite them all to death for causing such disruption, but he knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate on it. Not with _Tsuna_ on his mind.

A smile. Laughter. _Another_ smile.

_What is going on? _

When was the last time he had seen such a thing? An expression that burned his heart when it was full of joy and stabbed it when it was sullen; one that made him buzz with happiness just to see it on his face. And when it disappeared, the inside of him flooded with harsh, heavy rain, bringing him down to the ground. Clueless and alone, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't remember what it was like before that smile ever existed, when his life was black and white, impassive. With him around, there was too much color to erase and repaint. It filled him up. Filled his once empty bottle and left stains as it vanished. Stains that refused to let him forget, lingering in his mind, staying even if he went crazy just thinking about it.

"_What are you doing here? The enemy is on in the inside." _

"_No, Kyouya, the enemy is everywhere." _

_Clouds. It was a cloudy day. Dark puffs floated below the sky, on the urge of releasing a torrent of ruthless storming. But it wasn't yet dark enough to obscure the sun. It shone through, barely hitting the earth with its hot, streaming rays. Two men were in a garden, standing before a water fountain that sprayed ceaselessly, always repeating a never ending cycle. There were crashes in the distance, the destroying of furniture and the bashing of heads. Family against family. The good versus the bad. But who was the good? and who was the bad? _

_Twelve minutes. _

"_Is something wrong, Tsunayoshi?" _

"_I just don't want to leave you...don't want to leave anyone." _

"_Of course. We'll always be together." _

_The taller man wrapped his arms around the brunette, smoothing his hair. _

"_You're acting weird. Tell me, what happened?" _

"…_Intuition. It's bothering me." _

_The skylark waited, listening. _

"_It told me not to come here. But I did. This ominous feeling. The feeling of dread." _

_He hugged him closer. _

"_I'm so scared, Kyouya. So, so scared. I don't…know what to do." _

"_Do not worry. I'm always here to protect you." _

_There was a sigh. "I know." _

_A finger slid under his chin, tilting his head up to gaze into steel hardened eyes that only softened for him. Only him. The man kissed him and hands immediately tangled in raven hair, desperate. The brunette brought his tongue in first, being aggressive, and the other attacked back by unbuckling his belt. _

_Tsuna broke away, surprised. _

"_Kyouya! Not here," he protested, deeply blushing. _

"_Why not?" he asked, breathing into his ear as he continued. _

"_What! What do you mean 'Why not?' We're at-eeei! Hey! Ahaha-stop! Hehee." _

_Hibari was tickling him along his ribs. _

"_You smiled." _

"_E-eh?" _

"_And laughed." _

"_Oh, I-" _

"_Tsuna-nii!" _

_Decimo suddenly turned serious. "Go, Kyouya. Leave before everyone gets here." _

"_Why?" _

"_Or come along with them when everyone arrives. Just leave!" _

"_No." _

"_Kyouya. Leave. Now." There was a bright flash of orange. Flame filled, demanding eyes. An absolute order. _

_The Cloud Guardian hesitated. He left. _

"_Tsuna-nii's right there! I found him!" _

"_Jyudaime!" _

"_Tsuna, why'd you run off? You got us quite worried."_

_The brunette turned around and smiled. "Sorry, just catching some leftovers." _

_Off course, Hibari went ridged. No, _everyone_ went ridged. _

_Twelve minutes. _

_Dead, lifeless, blank. _

_He was gone. _

_Just like that, in a split second. _

Hibari stood watching Vongola's water fountain flow with bubbling liquid, thinking. Alone. Awfully alone.

* * *

><p>"<em>That went much faster than I thought. I expected at least a few days to get this far."<em>

"_What are you going to do?" _

"_Send someone to activate the virus." _

_Panic. "Right now?" _

"_Yes, of course." _

"_But you said you wouldn't hurt him! As long as I did what you said!" _

"_Are you kidding me? What happened to that amazing intuition of yours? I was lying." _

"_No! Not right now. If you do it right now, you won't be able to catch him off guard. Believe me! Just give me more time." _

"_Anything to postpone fate, huh? Fine, then I will give you more time." _

"…_Thank you."_

* * *

><p>This is going too fast...-_- Oh well. Time to read.<p>

Please don't throw tomatoes at me! I know the pairings are weird, but they will turn out right! I promise! D:

Please review? D:


	10. Chapter 10 Problems

…You guys, I'm so sorry. I don't deserve writing this or any of you guys. So, so, so sorry. Summer break is coming very soon. Four/five more weeks of hell. I will be back. D:

**To Yuya2718: **Thank you soooo much for the review! Please keep reading! :D (2718?)

**To TheFeyRa: **Haha, I keep getting so much pity. xD Please keep reading and reviewing!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

**EDIT (4/14/12): Revisions made towards the end of the story. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: Problems<strong>

"Hey! Kyouya!"

A dark eyebrow twitched at the voice, recognizing it immediately, and growled in annoyance for being called with such familiarity. _Great, what the hell does he want? _

"I was looking for you!"

The Cloud Guardian felt a hand on his shoulder from behind and shrugged it off instantly.

"Hmm? Cold as always, huh?"

Katou Julie stepped around to meet him in the eye, grin obnoxiously plastered on his face. He was the same as always. Hunting for girls, laid back, and going off on his own most of the time. But he was no doubt strong, stronger than the typical omnivore with a personality definitely not of a carnivore. Hibari just couldn't stand it.

_And he still has all that damn facial hair. Definitely not allowed! _

"Well, I'm glad that you're staying away from Adel," he said with a grin, "Why don't you help this poor man out, huh?"

Hibari glared at him some more in response.

"Geezus, Kyouya, lay off a little, hm? You need the break," Julie frowned at him in disapproval.

The skylark really had wished that he could spend some time alone, and he believed that he could submerge himself into isolation if he left without a word. But just _somehow_, Katou Julie found him, and to make matters worse, he came to discuss something rather and quite annoying.

_Should I hit him?_

"Heeeyy, why don't we get a drink together, Kyouya? You know, reminisce about the past, man-to-man chat about what's been going on since four years ago? Geez, sounds exciting, doesn't it?" Julie chuckled as he came around to Hibari's right side to sling his arm around him.

_Bash!_

"Oooowww! That hurt!" Julie whined, breaking the body contact as reflex. The Cloud Guardian had punched the offensive man right along the jaw. "Fine, fine, no man-to-man. Just drink, talk, _seriously_."

At that moment, Katou Julie flashed him a grave look, and Hibari knew that something was wrong. He really didn't want to have a conversation with this man, but his gut told him that it had to be important. So he complied and began walking back towards the Vongola headquarter building. Julie got the message and followed him.

"So…how are things between you and Decimo, huh?" he asked, trying to pick up a non-existent conversation with the cold skylark.

Hibari ignored him. Or rather, he couldn't reply back without making things complicated.

"…Fine, be an anti-social," Julie sniffed with disappointment when he received silence.

Eventually, the two men entered back into the Vongola building and were greeted by flying furniture as Sasagawa Ryohei competitively tried to look intimidating.

"Ooouhhh! Take that, Aoba, to the extreme!"

Hibari refrained from rolling his eyes as he tried to pretend that the two obnoxious people were not there. It didn't help much.

"Is that all you can do?" the other boxer screamed back, taunting the Sun Guardian. "Oh, Julie, hold up! I thought you would like to know. Adel just passed by, I swear she looked like she was crying – Ow! Hey, that was totally unfair, I was talking!"

Julie's movements halted as he received the unbelievable news. However, the Cloud Guardian continued, quite sure of what was about to happen next.

"You, Kyouya!" the Shimon Guardian growled with unexpected ruthlessness. "What did you do?"

Holding back a sigh, Hibari turned around to face an outraged Julie, giving him a cold, unsympathetic stare. He really didn't have time for this. Didn't Julie have something important to say?

"I respected you because of Tsuna. You treated him in a way that I thought it was not possible of you. So I let Adel go, and this is how you treat her? You can do better than this!"

Nose to nose, Julie brought his rival up by the collar, infuriated. His jaw was clenched, teeth bared and seething. He was mad, awfully mad, and terrifyingly mad for a man like him. However, Hibari remained unfazed. He looked back at him with uncaring eyes, almost lazy. In his world, there was no need to concern himself for anyone. By whose authority did he have to? All he needed was Tsuna and Tsuna only. Others were just people with the potential to either be worthy or not to bite to death. And that was it. Suzuki Adelheid was one of them, and that was the only place she held in their relationship.

Julie, knowing that there was nothing he could do to make Hibari feel guilty, growled once more and roughly shoved the skylark back with a scowling face. Eyes narrowed, he spun on his heel and stalked off, most likely having Suzuki on his mind.

Hibari straightened his suit that Julie had rumpled up in an obviously calmer state. He glanced over at the two boxers and scoffed at their negligence. They hadn't noticed anything.

Taking a glimpse at his watch, Hibari took note that Tsuna had been separated from his side for only a couple hours, but he was already feeling withdrawal symptoms. He itched for his attention, craved it, and could not stand thinking that _Kozato Enma_ was with him, _alone. _Hibari hated him, loathed him quite a bit, actually. And if it was even possible, he despised him even more today. For Tsuna had smiled genuinely at _him,_ and not Hibari Kyouya. Tsuna had turned back for him, and not Hibari Kyouya. It was insane! An act not to be even seen, but he saw it. So even although the leader of the Shimon family had changed from being such an herbivore, Enma still did not deserve his respect (due to his jealousy), and he knew that Enma didn't like him much either.

If Tsuna was going to call him a mother hen, then he was going to be a mother hen. It didn't matter if he, a guardian, had to leave the bosses of two leading mafia factions to their own privacy. He did things by his own rules, and no matter what prevented him, he was going to barge in unannounced.

* * *

><p>Yamamoto felt miserable. He was unnaturally falling into depression. Jealousy could do many impressive things. Gokudera was shy, he knew that, and he also knew that he wasn't very honest all the time either. But for Shitt. P to beat him in such a way of taking Gokudera's first date, and even worse, Gokudera's possibly first kiss (since their relationship started after the silver-eyed man had gotten over his U.M.A. obsession), frightened him. It made him feel as if he wasn't competent enough. Yamamoto really took pride in knowing that Gokudera was purely <em>his<em>, and he had honestly believed that it was true; that he had gotten the first kiss, the first relationship, the first of everything from him. But he didn't.

It was overwhelmingly aggravating, and he couldn't stand it.

He seriously wanted to pull a Gokudera and violently kick at something.

However, doing something like that probably meant the world was coming to an end, so he put on a fake smile and brought out his Vongola Box.

"Jirou!" he called out, trying to lift up his voice.

A flash of blue flames sparked to life. It jumped out of the box, colliding onto the polished, wooden floor and took form of his loyal, peppy dog. However, he didn't seem too peppy at the moment. His mood reflected his owner, for he felt happy whenever Yamamoto was happy, and felt sad whenever Yamamoto was sad.

Jirou whimpered as he sat, looking up at his master as his tail wagged limply.

"Hey," the swordsman greeted as he squatted down, rubbing and petting the dog's face affectionately. His voice echoed back at him due to the massive space of Vongola's lobby. Jirou whimpered again and licked Yamamoto's cheek in sympathy. Maybe Uri wasn't treating him well either.

"You wanna play catch, Jirou, hm?" he offered, smiling weakly as he ruffled the fur between the ears.

He woofed back in agreement.

"Okay, let's go," the Rain Guardian stood as he headed toward the exit, leading to the front yard. His fluffy companion followed at his heels.

Once outside, Yamamoto broke a branch off of one of the dying trees of the garden, played with it in his hand for a moment, and threw it, losing sight of it immediately as it disappeared into the darkness. Jirou barked in excitement and ran after it. A few seconds later, Yamamoto sighed.

_Hayato, don't you understand? I need some words. People say that I'm confident, and I am. But in all honesty, you are the only person that I'm not confident with. Every day, I have to plan my actions. What I say out of my mouth – will they please you or will they make you angry? I never know. Beside you, I can't act impulsively. I have to think. I am so afraid when you get mad at me. You don't talk and the loneliness seeps in. Now, it seems that I am angry with you, and I know that it has to be me who apologizes. Because if I don't, the loneliness will become permanent since you never come to me first. _

"Yamamoto-kuuun! Is that youuu?"

The swordsman turned around. Whoever called out to him was not on eye-level, so he looked up and saw Shitt. P waving at him from the balcony.

"Shitopi-san?"

In a flash, Jirou was in front of him with the stick between his teeth, growling and snapping aggressively like a protective lion.

Yamamoto bent down and slid his fingers through the fur. "Jirou, it's okay."

Before him, Shitt. P leaped off from the fifth floor. Once she hit the ground, she began walking towards him.

"So I see that your dog reveals your true emotions," she said when she got closer. He tone depicted neither warmth nor coldness.

"Oh, of course not, Shitopi-san. Jirou just doesn't know you, that's all," Yamamoto replied dismissively. However, he knew that the eccentric Shimon guardian was right.

There was a span of silence.

"Yamamoto-kun, I like Hayato-kun," she said suddenly.

The swordsman paused his petting. "…I know."

"And Hayato-kun likes me."

Yamamoto didn't reply to that, but continued stroking Jirou with tenser movements.

"I would like for you to give him up to me."

"And why would I do that?" he said, voice beginning to clip.

"Because Hayato-kun likes me better."

Yamamoto gave a wry smile. "That is certainly not a reason for me to give him up."

"Even if Hayato-kun never likes you back?"

"Shitopi-san, you, in this amount of four years, have never once come to visit or even see him. How can I even consider you as even worthy enough to be by Hayato's side? If Hayato were to love someone else and not me, my only condition would be to know that he would end up happy. And that is something I definitely do not believe that you can do."

"…Yamamoto-kun, you aren't doing a very good job of making him happy either. Before I came here, I went to visit Hayato-kun's room. What I heard from there didn't sound very happy."

Yamamoto stopped his petting completely, and Jirou began to growl once again but ended up in a whine.

Then Shitt. P broke up into squealing giggles. "Eeehee, I've never seen you so serious, Yamamoto-kun! But who am I kidding? I don't love anyone but myself. Bye!"

She giggled once more and then pranced away.

However, the swordsman was nowhere close to laughing, not even close to smiling.

* * *

><p>Tsuna was laughing, clutching his waist because it had become uncontrollable. However, internally, he was bawling, trying not to cry his eyes out as he deliberately hurt the people he loved. Enma was storytelling, bringing up the hilarious moments that happened in the past four years that Decimo had missed. The redhead appeared elated; elated because he had successfully made Tsuna smile at him and made him laugh so joyously. At least, that's what he thought. Tsuna was putting on a pretty good show.<p>

"That's awesome, Enma-kun. I can't believe that Aoba would do such a thing. And really, Suzuki Adelheid? In love with Kyouya? That nearly sounds impossible," and Tsuna really wished it was.

"Mhm," he agreed, grinning widely himself when Tsuna made no negative signs towards his implication of a possible relationship between the two. "They really make a pair."

"Yeah," Tsuna responded, attempting to affirm it the best he could. Pain shot down his heart.

The two of them were sitting on the floor of his office, legs stretched out and palms on the floor – positions that really shouldn't be seen in such a formal room. But of course, Tsuna allowed it. The more casual things could be, the better. He had to make Enma feel the most comfortable possible, and it was working.

"Tsuna…how did you guys break up?" Enma asked tentatively.

Decimo frowned and his lips thinned. "…I don't want to talk about it."

And he really didn't, because there was nothing to talk about in the first place.

Enma hesitated. "…I'm sorry."

Tsuna took a deep breath. _Can I really do this? …Yes, you can, you _have_ to. This is for Kyouya. This is for everyone. To save everyone. _

"It's okay," Tsuna said, and he leaned over to kiss the redhead. He brought his body on top of his, straddling his hips. Enma was a little surprised at first, because Tsuna taking the initiative meant that he was accepted and that _this _was allowed. Breath hitching, he eagerly kissed back. This was something that he had dreamed for years, _wanted _for years, but Hibari Kyouya had took him away and how much Enma hated him for that.

With years from not seeing each other, Enma believed that he now had a chance to dominate his ex-boyfriend. He knew that he had grown, matured, and admitted that he was quite good-looking. So why not? He pushed back against brunette, beginning to throw his weight over, but was immediately forced back to his floor with monstrously powerful arms. It shocked him. Enma's mouth opened as he released a groan from his head hitting the floor, and Tsuna took his chance. He ravaged his mouth with experience that Enma did not expect, and he knew that his experience had come from Hibari. But before he could think too much upon the subject, Tsuna released his lips and skidded lower to press against his neck, right below his jawline. He remembered. He actually remembered. He remembered that it was this particular area in which the redhead had felt most sensitive. Enma thought his happiness would overflow.

The buttons of his blazer was undone, and he felt a warm hand travel under his collared shirt. He shuddered at the touch. It had been so long since they had made contact. So unreasonably long. Maybe he was dreaming, because before, he felt certain that this would never happen again, that Hibari Kyouya had successfully stolen Tsuna away forever. He could remember it so clearly the day when Tsuna left him. It had etched a wound and it was still bleeding even after years passed. Now maybe it could be healed. Maybe it would turn into scar, or maybe it could be forgotten forever.

Enma was so absorbed by the brunette that he didn't even notice the stomping of footsteps that were getting louder and louder, didn't even notice that the door had open with a slam, and didn't even notice that Hibari Kyouya was back again to most likely steal what he loved.

There was a loud snarl, one that was dark, full of anguish, and betrayal – a sound that he immediately felt pity for, even if it was Hibari Kyouya.

Enma looked up at the skylark, his stormy, gray eyes furious and unbelieving. He saw him open his mouth but nothing came.

"Hibari-san, I…"

But before Enma could say anything else, Tsuna had cut him off. And what the next few words that were released shocked the whole room, because it wasn't like Tsuna at all. But that didn't mean Decimo had turned back to his cold, emotionless self. It was clear that he was in control, and what he said was truly purposeful, callous, and demanding:

"Kyouya, leave. Can't you see that I'm busy?"


	11. Chapter 11 Conflicted

**To Lilly: **Thank you so much for the review! Sorry for making Tsuna so annoying, lol. :P

**Disclaimer:** I do not own KHR

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: Conflicted<strong>

Hibari Kyouya wanted to see blood.

No, he _needed_ to see blood.

And that blood had to come from Kozato Enma, and _only _Kozato Enma.

How dare he, to first, drag Tsuna off to himself, bring him to a private room, and then…_seduce_ him! How could he? Wasn't it long ago established that Sawada Tsunayoshi was in the skylark's ownership and not the redhead's? How far did he have to spell it out? Tsuna was no toy for him to play with. He was no partner, no lover, not _anything_, and how much Hibari would like to demand that Tsuna was not even a friend to Enma at all. Stealing Decimo away would mean _thief. _And thieves had to be punished or even better, killed. How much he hated him, oh, so much.

Blood. Absolutely.

He needed to bite him to the death. Now.

Who cared if Tsuna was "busy"?

He wouldn't be busy anymore once that stupid, little redhead was destroyed, gone gone, far far away. Yes. Perfect.

In a snap, the Cloud Guardian took hold of Decimo's collar. He heard a strangled yelp of surprise, but it didn't hold him back. He threw the brunet off the hateful, little redhead and swung his tonfa with all he had to batter that deceiving face.

Yes. Blood. Finally. Maybe a broken nose.

But he still wasn't satisfied.

He raised his arm to strike again.

"Kyouya, no!"

However, the tonfa was brought down, once again, with no mercy. But he had underestimated Kozato Enma, who was now the boss of the Shimon Family – matured, older, and worthy of his position (which Hibari did not want to admit). Metal met against flesh, but he heard no satisfying crack for Enma had effectively blocked the blow with the palm of his hand. His eyes gleamed, threatening, a sputter of his dying will trickling from an intense gaze.

For a moment, Hibari hesitated. Of course, he wasn't intimidated, not from a redheaded herbivore. He was purely surprised, because no more than seven years ago, Kozato Enma was a weakling, even weaker than Tsuna. He was someone who whined, could not stand up for himself, could not make eye contact, not even a faintest glimpse, yet here he was staring; staring so intently, full of loathing, envy, defiance, and confidence that he himself could take Vongola's Ace on.

The Cloud Guardian raised an eyebrow. Was he actually asking for the challenge? He smirked, his anger dissipating into urge and hunger. He was going to make sure that Enma was going to regret it.

Hibari stepped back, allowing Enma to get back on to his feet, and as if a silent contract had been signed between them, the two lit up their flames – Cloud against Earth. He chuckled at the thought. Did he really think that Earth was compatible with Sky? The two levels were so far apart. No matter how far the Earth reached, the Sky always remained far ahead, and there was no way the Sky would allow itself to go as low as dirt. And even if it did, the Clouds would prevent it anyway, so that was what he had to do.

Vongola Ring aflame, Hibari raised his tonfas in provocation. Enma decided, steady on his feet with a determined expression marked by firmly pressed lips and flickering eyes. The blood that gushed from his nose had not even been wiped away. He let it course down his skin with absolutely no hint of incessant complaints. His hands slowly formed into fists. Liquid metal, smooth and comforting at the look, spilled from his ring. It spread to his fingertips, molding along with his skin in one flowing movement and hardened into polished, high quality gauntlets. Enma released the clench of his hands, and the metal clinked softly as it brushed together.

Hibari wanted to smile. His wish was being granted so easily. To make the redhead feel as if he had all hope but then trash it down to nothing, the skylark took a step forward.

"Hibari-san, one question," Enma began, and the Cloud Guardian narrowed his eyes in impatience, "What is Tsuna to you?"

_What is he not?_ Hibari wanted to snarl. _Don't you already know the answer to that question?_

But of course, he didn't say anything, and no matter how sympathetic Enma could be, he took Hibari's silence as an insult.

"Fine," Enma said coldly, and without warning, flames further burst from his hands and from his forehead. Hibari's eyebrow twitched as he fell into shock. The feeling of those flames was so different from ever before. Pulsing with a mix of motivated fury and tinges of anxiety, the richly-red colored fire seemed to scorch the room. It took Hibari a moment to realize that this was not the Enma he was expecting. The instinctive herbivore actions that Hibari had been anticipating from him could not be depicted. Rather, the angry flames that coated his hands reflected an impossible being. Something that could even be labeled as the opposite of Kozato Enma: monstrous. An unbelievable monstrous blood thirst seeped through his every pore even though his face remained frigidly impassive. But this new revelation didn't stop Hibari for long, because soon after, his lips curved upwards into an infinitely eager smirk.

However, none of this went past the frowning brunet who had been thrown out of the occurring silent conversation.

The Cloud Guardian nearly jumped when a tuft of caramel hair appeared in his sight. Almost confused, Hibari casted his gaze downwards.

"Hibari Kyouya," his name came before him, full, firm, and demanding, like it was reprimanding a child, "Stop thi–"

"Tsuna."

Decimo paused for a whole second before he could respond. _Enma_ had just interrupted him.

"Tsuna, don't. I want this. _He_ wants this," Enma tried to explain, his flames still burning. "Right, Hibari-san?"

The redhead pointedly stared at the skylark as he asked. Hibari made no move to respond, but the answer was clear: a fight to fight it out. He had been challenged after all, so how could the Cloud Guardian ever refuse?

"No," Tsuna protested, "I forbid this—"

"I'm sorry, Tsuna. I don't think I can listen to you on this one."

It was faint like a blink, but Hibari saw it. Tsuna had flinched from those words. His sienna hair fluttered as his left eye twitched slightly. There was a parting between his lips, involuntarily taking in abrupt inhalations, and then his face fell into the unmistakable disgrace of pain. His thin brows furrowed, and his caramel eyes glanced downwards, hinting remorse and bitterness. He tried to hide it – the nameless discomfort – but Hibari saw it and gritted his teeth because of the purity. These emotions that flittered across second by second were all his, purely his. And it was pain. Not happiness, not a smile, and not joy. He was back, but why was he feeling this way?

Again, the movement was slight. Tsuna turned to the side, away from the skylark as if ashamed. He breathed in, deeper this time and reluctantly took a step back away, emptying the space between the Cloud Guardian and the Shimon leader.

Hibari's gaze lingered at Decimo's disturbing expression, but he eventually returned his attention back to Enma. He could tell at once that due to Tsuna's interruption, the redhead had lost his blood thirst. The monster was gone from his stale, crimson eyes, but Enma was still inclined to fight. He could not give up Tsuna, just like how Hibari could not give him up either. However, his hesitation made Hibari disappointed. The Cloud Guardian's excitement dwindled, and his arms lowered –

* * *

><p><em>Crrrrrshhhshhhbam! <em>

Tsuna jumped, startled, although the sudden attack wasn't what shocked him; rather, the main cause was that _Hibari Kyouya _had just went though the office wall (Tsuna winced at the thought of another bill), hurled out of the room. He had been caught off guard!

Decimo looked to the right, towards Enma's side with the glass window behind him. He was surprised himself. After all, he had just made a pretty heavy hit upon Vongola's Ace. But before Enma could recover, the skylark sent him crashing into the windows. He brought the antique office desk along with him as he tumbled outside. Glass shattered, papers scattered, and the cold, night wind burst though the now open gap. Hibari swiftly followed his victim, stepping outside. Tsuna whimpered to himself and copied his Cloud Guardian's actions.

_You're doing this for nothing! _he wanted to scream at them. There was no fight; the two of them just made up one, but it was true that Tsuna had caused it. He lied to Enma, betrayed them all, but the fight was done for the wrong purpose. He wasn't even worthy to be fought over. He was a traitor.

But he wanted to save them. What could he do?

Tsuna shut his eyes, frustration gradually bubbling up against his chest. He should have predicted this and used a different method, but he couldn't do anything to change it now; only to remind himself of his incompetence and failure over and over again as he continued to watch the duel before him.

The roof shingles were torn, glass crinkled beneath his feet, and the two rivals had already moved far downwards, using the Vongola's backyard as their battlefield. Tsuna could hear their flames roaring as they clashed together. Harsh vibrations ran down the soles of his feet for every impact. He wanted to stop them, to stop fighting over him. Groaning, he crouched, legs bent with the broken shingles surrounding him. He placed his head against his knees, suppressing a dry sob into fragments…

* * *

><p>"<em>Sawada Tsunayoshi…? Is that really you?" <em>

"_Finally! I thought it wouldn't work. I don't have much time –"_

"_What happened to you? What… what happened to your _body_?"_

"_Never mind that, it's not important." _

"_Who took it? Who has your soul? That's mine to take, what a bastard –!" _

"_I have an order, are you listening?" _

"…"

"_Mukuro, I need you to kill me." _

* * *

><p><em>Bamksshhhhh! <em>

The noise was getting louder. The vibrations were heavier, and Tsuna's whole body shuddered as metal met against metal. He repositioned himself back onto his feet, and as he looked below him, he nearly winced at the sight. He could see the form of a battered and kneeling Kozato Enma. The skylark stood above him, strangely motionless as if his victory had brought him nothing. Enma appeared confused, flabbergasted, and whether it was caused by his defeat or something else, Tsuna could not tell. Enma looked at his hands. His flames had died out, but his gloves were still intact and molded along his fingers. His face contorted into deeper confusion, and Hibari just remained beside him, still and unusually patient. What were they doing?

Tsuna inched forward, releasing his position, and hopped down from the roof. Cautiously, he confronted them. It was like they were having another one of those silent conversations. Difficult to intrude and to divert the attention, Tsuna could only wait for a response.

Eventually, Hibari liberated himself from the pressure and turned to meet the brunet's eyes. Even though it was dark, Tsuna could see that the skylark seemed mysteriously conflicted himself. Thinned lips, tensed neck lines, and angled eyebrows, he reciprocated Enma's expression. But before Tsuna could ask for an explanation, his Cloud Guardian returned to acknowledge the redhead, raised his tonfas, and skidded back several feet before he came to a stop. Enma had attacked again, but it was obvious that the action was unsure and no longer filled with the previous determination he once had. His fists held no resolution, and the punch had no meaning. The redhead frowned, seemingly at loss of what to do.

"It's not your choice," Enma said, tone uncertain.

Hibari replied with a cold glare.

"It's not my choice either," he continued. "You're wrong. You don't deserve him if you think that way."

_What? What did I miss? _Tsuna couldn't comprehend the situation. What had brought the sudden change? The two of them had been only fighting for a few minutes.

Insulted by Enma's words, the skylark bashed him in the face. The redhead stumbled, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with a sleeve.

"It's true. Admit it."

A low growl came from the Cloud Guardian, but it came out strangled and suffocated. It was a horrible and degrading noise – a dying animal. Enma's eyes widened at the sound, and he unconsciously brought a gloved hand up to his own throat.

"You…what…? Are you –?"

Immediately, Hibari made sure to dismiss him. He spun on his foot and swiftly walked away before Enma could finish anything. He didn't' want to hear it.

Enma visibly faltered; his brain was in the process of piecing things together. Then he turned to Tsuna, searching for an answer that he didn't want to believe in. The brunet could only nod, and the redhead opened his mouth but couldn't find something to say.

However, after several silent minutes, Enma finally managed to croak out, "I didn't notice…I'm so sorry…How?"

Tsuna repressed a flinch. It was his fault. Everything was. What kind of mafia boss was he to get his friends and his own family to hurt so much like this?

"A typical mission. Caught off guard."

Enma could tell at once that Decimo was lying, but he let it pass. Then he let out an explosive sigh, "I'm sorry, Tsuna."

"For what?"

The redhead paused. "This. Everything. I keep forgetting that it's your decision to choose between us."

_You're doing this for nothing, _Tsuna so dearly wished to say to him, but he kept his mouth shut and bitterly shook his head. "No, _I_ am sorry."

* * *

><p>"<em>Do you want your guardians killed?" <em>

"_What? What did I do this time?" _

"_Are you playing dumb with me? You made contact!" _

"_I don't understand. With who? Like I promised you, I didn't tell Kyou—" _

"_Your Mist Guardian, you fucking idiot. Don't hide it from me." _

"…_What? But that was ages ago."_

"_Yes, it was ages ago! And I can't believe that I just realized it now, damn illusionists!" _

"_You're an illusionist yourself." _

"_I can't believe this. What did you say to him?" _

"_I don't know. It was such a long time ago, you expect me to remember?"_

_"Oh, fuck you."_


End file.
